Epistemic Divergence and the Publicity of Scientific Methods

Piccinini, Gualtiero (2002) Epistemic Divergence and the Publicity of Scientific Methods.

Abstract

Abstract. Epistemic divergence occurs when different investigators give different answers to the same question using evidence-collecting methods that are not public. Without following the principle that scientific methods must be public, scientific communities risk epistemic divergence. I explicate the notion of public method and argue that, to avoid the risk of epistemic divergence, scientific communities should (and do) apply only methods that are public.