Empirical Identity as an Indicator of Theory Choice
- 1 School of Humanities, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
Abstract
There are many theories about theory choice in philosophy of science, but no any indicator of scientific theory has been precisely defined, let alone a united index system. By the example of empirical identity, I shall show that a range of scientific indicators to decide theory choice can be precisely defined by some basic concepts. I think that these indicators can provide us a better description of the principles of philosophy of science. The certain pursuit of theories’ empirical identity and novelty leads the cumulative view of scientific progress; under non-cumulative circumstance, it is totally practicable to judge a theory’s empirical identity as well as empirical novelty; empirical identity underdetermines the acceptance of a particular theory. It is possible that all the principles of philosophy of science could be explained again through the system of index of theory choice, thus a more rigorous theory of philosophy of science could be established.
- Collingwood, R. G. (1956). The Idea of History. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Feyerabend, P. (1970). Consolations for the Specialist. In Lakatos, I., & Musgrave, A. (Eds.), Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139171434.010
- Kuhn, T. (1957). The Corpernican Pevolution: Planetary Astronomy in the Development of Western Thought. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Kuhn, T. (1962). The Structure of Scientific Revolution. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Lakatos, I. (1970). Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes. In Lakatos, I., & Musgrave, A. (Eds.), Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139171434.009
- Laudan, L. (1977). Progress and Its Problems. Berkeley: University of California Press.
- Ma, L. (2006). Conflict and Concert: A Fresh Study of Scientific Rationality. Beijing: The Commercial Press.
- McAllister, J.W. (1996). Beauty & Revolution in Science. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
- Popper, K. (1975). The Rationality of Scientific Revolutions. In R. Harré (Ed.), Problems of Scientific Revolution, Oxford: Oxford University Press.