Allzén, Simon (2024) Dark Matter: Explanatory Unification and Historical Continuity. [Preprint]

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Abstract

In recent years, the hope to confirm the existence of dark matter by experimentally detecting it has diminished significantly. After more than 30 years of experimental searches, many of the most promising candidates have since been ruled out, leaving the epistemic and scientific condition of dark matter in a state of suspension. In efforts to improve the epistemic justification for the dark-matter hypothesis, physicists have turned to philosophical arguments and historical narratives. In this paper, I explicate two such strategies -- explanatory unification and historical continuity -- applied in the context of dark matter. I argue that greater care and attention should be invested in the explanatory arguments to increase their strength, and that a survey of primary historical sources in astronomy renders the historical evidence for the continuity of dark matter substantially weaker. The quality and rigor of the philosophical and historical arguments which physicists are constructing could be substantially improved by increasing interdisciplinary practices.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Allzén, Simon simon.allzen@philosophy.su.se 0000-0002-6124-8152
Keywords:	Dark Matter, Explanation, History, Cosmology, Astronomy, Justification
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Astrophysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology General Issues > Evidence General Issues > Explanation Specific Sciences > Historical Sciences General Issues > Theory Change
Depositing User:	Dr Simon Allzén
Date Deposited:	18 Dec 2024 13:34
Last Modified:	18 Dec 2024 13:34
Item ID:	24413
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Astrophysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Cosmology General Issues > Evidence General Issues > Explanation Specific Sciences > Historical Sciences General Issues > Theory Change
Date:	18 December 2024
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24413

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