Scientific Progress A Study Concerning the Nature of the Relation Be
For the philosopher interested in the idea of objective knowledge of the real world, the nature of science is of special importance, for science, and more particularly physics, is today considered to be paradigmatic in its affording of such knowledge. And
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SYNTHESE LIBRARY
STUDIES IN EPISTEMOLOGY, LOGIC, METHODOLOGY, AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Managing Editor: JAAKKO HINTIKKA,
Florida State University
Editors: DONALD DAVIDSON,
University of Chicago
GABRIEL NUCHELMANS, WESLEY
University of Leyden
C. SALMON, University of Pittsburgh
VOLUME 153
CRAIG DILWORTH Department of Philosophy, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS A Study Concerning the Nature of the Relation Between Successive Scientific Theories
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V.
library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entIy under title: Dilworth, Craig. Scientific Progress. (Synthese Library; v. 153) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Science-Philosophy. 2. Q175.D6342 501
Science-Methodology. 1. Title. 81-13814 AACR2 ISBN 978-94-015-7657-4 ISBN 978-94-015-7655-0 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-015-7655-0
AII Rights Reserved Copyright © 1981 by Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by D. keidel Publishing Company, Dordrecht, Holland in 1981 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover lst edition 1981 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any n,eans, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieva) system, without written permis sion from the copyright owner.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study has been presented in a number of versions since its central ideas first appeared in a short essay "Incommensurability and Scientific Progress" in 1975. Since that time it has received the helpful criticism of very many people, and to all of them I here express my thanks. Lennart Nordenfelt has discussed with me in detail versions appearing in 1976 and 1977. Those whose contributions are more recent include Rainer Carls, Paul Feyerabend, Mats Furberg, Lars Hertzberg, and Dag Prawitz, each of whom has made valuable suggestions concerning my 1978 paper "On the Nature of the Relation Between Successive Scientific Theories", from which the last six chapters of the present work have been developed. More specialized comments have been offered by Staffan Nilsson (Chapter 10), and by Peter Gardenfors and Wlodzimierz Rabinowicz (Chapter 11). And for reading and commenting on the whole of this work just before it went to press, I express my gratitude to Ingvar Johansson and Giovanni Sommaruga. Very special thanks are due to Prof. Stig Kanger, for his support and guidance during my years as a graduate student at Uppsala, and to Prof. Evandro Agazzi, who has done everything possible to help see this work through to completion. C.D.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
11
1. THE DEDUCTIVE MODEL
1. The Deductive Model as a Model of Explanation 2. A Criticism of the Model as a Model of Explanation 2. THE BASIS OF THE LOGICAL EMPIRICIST CONCEPTION OF SCIENCE 1. Verifiability 2. Induction and Confirmation 3. THE BASIS OF THE POPPERIAN CONCEPTION OF SCIENCE 1. Falsifiability 2. Basic Statements and Background Knowledge 3. Corroboration, Severity of Tests, an
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