Arana Segura, Diego (2025) Equivalence and Theory Expansion. [Preprint]

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Abstract

This paper presents a novel framework for understanding theoretical equivalence that reconciles two familiar approaches to the problem: formal and content-based. Formal approaches are based on the logical and syntactical features of theories, while content-based approaches focus on their content as construed in various metaphysical approaches to semantics. I argue that these approaches are complementary and that a deeper view of equivalence emerges when we consider a theory's expansion potential---its capacity to be embedded in broader theoretical contexts. This notion links content to syntax, as syntactical structure constrains how a theory's expressions can be used, and this use in turn determines the theory's possibilities for representing the world across different theoretical contexts. The framework is applied to various cases where formal and content-based approaches face difficulties, showing that it can explain the equivalence and inequivalence of theories where previous approaches failed, and that it can better justify the strategies employed by proponents of these approaches in each case.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Arana Segura, Diego diego.arana@rutgers.edu 0009-0006-8358-5148
Keywords:	Equivalence, Philosophy of Science, Metaphysics, Logic, Metasemantics
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Mathematics Specific Sciences > Physics General Issues > Structure of Theories
Depositing User:	Mr. Diego Arana Segura
Date Deposited:	28 Aug 2025 13:07
Last Modified:	28 Aug 2025 13:07
Item ID:	26383
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.1007/s11229-025-05236-8
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Mathematics Specific Sciences > Physics General Issues > Structure of Theories
Date:	2025
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/26383

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