Professor Peter Vickers peter.vickers@durham.ac.uk
Professor
Theory flexibility and inconsistency in science
Vickers, Peter
Authors
Abstract
For several decades now philosophers have discussed apparent examples of internally inconsistent scientific theories. However, there is still much controversy over how exactly we should conceive of scientific theories in the first place. Here I argue for a new approach, whereby all of the truly important questions about inconsistency in science can be asked and answered without disagreements about theories and theory-content getting in the way. Three examples commonly described as ‘internally inconsistent theories’ are analysed in the light of this approach. In the process, the question ‘Is the theory inconsistent or not?’ is identified as a bad, or at least unimportant, question.
Citation
Vickers, P. (2014). Theory flexibility and inconsistency in science. Synthese, 191(13), 2891-2906. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-014-0464-8
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Publication Date | Sep 1, 2014 |
Deposit Date | Jan 16, 2015 |
Publicly Available Date | Jan 27, 2015 |
Journal | Synthese |
Print ISSN | 0039-7857 |
Electronic ISSN | 1573-0964 |
Publisher | Springer |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 191 |
Issue | 13 |
Pages | 2891-2906 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-014-0464-8 |
Keywords | Inconsistency, Scientific theory, Bohr, Kirchhoff, Classical electrodynamics, Eliminativism. |
Files
Accepted Journal Article
(298 Kb)
PDF
Copyright Statement
The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11229-014-0464-8.
You might also like
The Call for a New Definition of Biosignature.
(2023)
Journal Article
Don’t we all believe in scientific facts? Replies to my critics
(2023)
Journal Article
Breakthrough results in astrobiology: is ‘high risk’ research needed?
(2023)
Journal Article
Confidence of Life Detection: The Problem of Unconceived Alternatives
(2023)
Journal Article
Knowledge of the Quantum Domain: an Overlap Strategy
(2022)
Journal Article