Boyd, Nora Mills and Matthiessen, Dana (2023) Observations, Experiments, and Arguments for Epistemic Superiority in Scientific Methodology. [Preprint]

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Abstract

This paper argues against general claims for the epistemic superiority of experiment over observation. It does so by dissociating the benefits traditionally attributed to experiment from physical manipulation. In place of manipulation, we argue that other features of research methods do confer epistemic advantages in comparison to methods in which they are diminished. These features better track the epistemic successes and failures of scientific research, cross-cut the observation/experiment distinction, and nevertheless explain why manipulative experiments are successful when they are.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Boyd, Nora Mills nboyd@siena.edu 0000-0002-3641-8682 Matthiessen, Dana dam228@pitt.edu
Additional Information:	Forthcoming in Philosophy of Science
Keywords:	observation, experiment, manipulation, intervention, signal and noise, backgrounds
Subjects:	General Issues > Causation General Issues > Confirmation/Induction General Issues > Evidence General Issues > Experimentation General Issues > Rhetoric of Science General Issues > Theory/Observation
Depositing User:	Nora Boyd
Date Deposited:	02 Aug 2023 14:25
Last Modified:	02 Aug 2023 14:25
Item ID:	22359
Subjects:	General Issues > Causation General Issues > Confirmation/Induction General Issues > Evidence General Issues > Experimentation General Issues > Rhetoric of Science General Issues > Theory/Observation
Date:	1 August 2023
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/22359

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