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| Program > Method |
| Programme > Méthode |
| Kent
Staley
(Saint
Louis University) Demarcation and Severe Testing |
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The aims of the largely abandoned demarcation project deserve continued attention, and this essay highlights two of them: the identification of theories worthy of pursuit, and of methods of theory testing and acceptance. My proposals are premised on the assumption that a central aim of a scientific community is the generation of evidence for those theories it employs in giving explanations, and on a “severe testing” account of evidence. First, for a theory to be worth pursuing, I propose that we must have some reason to believe that we can have evidence for the theory. A severe testing account gives this requirement the right degree of stringency. For a test result to constitute evidence for a theory, it must fit the theory, and the theory must pass a severe test with that result. Thus, a theory is worth scientific pursuit only if it is reasonable to believe that the theory can be severely tested. Second, I propose that a community is conducting itself according to a scientific method with regard to theory acceptance just in case it is acting according to maxims that will allow for the acceptance of a hypothesis only on the condition that the hypothesis has passed a severe test. I then consider obstacles facing my approach concerning its treatment of “high-level” theoretical claims, and assess the prospects for overcoming such obstacles. I conclude that at least, the articulation of a clear theory of evidence can help to force a clarification of the aims of science.
Department
of Philosophy
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