Dellsén, Finnur (2021) Understanding Scientific Progress: The Noetic Account. [Preprint]

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Abstract

What is scientific progress? This paper advances an interpretation of this question, and an account that serves to answer it (thus interpreted). Roughly, the question is here understood to concern what type of cognitive change with respect to a topic or phenomenon X constitutes a scientific improvement (to a greater or lesser extent) with respect to X. The answer explored in the paper is that the requisite type of cognitive change occurs when scientific results are made publicly available so as to make it possible for anyone to increase their understanding of X. This account is briefly compared to two rival accounts of scientific progress, based respectively on increasing truthlikeness and accumulating knowledge, and is argued to be preferable to both.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Dellsén, Finnur finnurd@gmail.com 0000-0003-4989-4204
Additional Information:	Forthcoming in Synthese.
Keywords:	scientific progress; the noetic account; understanding; dependence relations; truthlikeness; knowledge
Subjects:	General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Theory Change
Depositing User:	Dr. Finnur Dellsén
Date Deposited:	26 Jun 2021 03:51
Last Modified:	26 Jun 2021 03:51
Item ID:	19226
Subjects:	General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Theory Change
Date:	2021
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/19226

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