Kao, Molly (2017) Unification beyond justification: a strategy for theory development. [Preprint]
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Official URL: https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11229-017-1515-...
Abstract
This paper considers the importance of unification in the context of developing scientific theories. I argue that unifying hypotheses are not valuable simply because they are supported by multiple lines of evidence. Instead, they can be valuable because they guide experimental research in different domains in such a way that the results from those experiments inform the scope of the theory being developed. I support this characterization by appealing to the early development of quantum theory. I then draw some comparisons with discussions of robustness reasoning.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | Unification, Theory development, Quantum theory, Robustness reasoning | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > History of Science Case Studies General Issues > Theory Change |
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| Depositing User: | Dr. Molly Kao | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 18 Aug 2017 16:01 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 18 Aug 2017 16:01 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 13332 | ||||||
| Official URL: | https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11229-017-1515-... | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > History of Science Case Studies General Issues > Theory Change |
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| Date: | 2017 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/13332 |
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