Currie, Adrian and Walsh, Kirsten (2018) Newton on Islandworld: ontic-driven explanations of scientific method. [Preprint]
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Abstract
Philosophers and scientists often cite ontic factors when explaining the methods and success of scientific inquiry. That is, the adoption of a method or approach (and its subsequent success or otherwise) is explained in reference to the kind of system in which the scientist is interested: these are explanations of why scientists do what they do, that appeal to properties of their target systems. We present a framework for understanding such ‘ontic-driven’ explanations, and illustrate it using a toy-case, the biogeography of ‘Islandworld’. We then put our view to historical work, comparing Isaac Newton’s Opticks to his Principia. Newton’s optical work is largely experiment-driven, while the Principia is primarily mathematical, so usually, each work is taken to exemplify a different kind of science. However, Newton himself often presented them in terms of a largely consistent method. We use our framework to articulate an original and plausible position: that the differences between the Opticks and the Principia are due to the kinds of systems targeted. That is, we provide an ontic-driven explanation of methodological differences. We suspect that ontic factors should have a more prominent role in historical explanations of scientific method and development.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | |||||||||
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| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Earth Sciences |
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| Depositing User: | Dr Adrian Currie | |||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 30 Apr 2018 00:53 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 30 Apr 2018 00:53 | |||||||||
| Item ID: | 14613 | |||||||||
| Official URL: | https://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/P... | |||||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Biology Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Earth Sciences |
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| Date: | 2018 | |||||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/14613 |
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