Abstract
Omitting experimental data is often considered a violation of scientific integrity. If we consider experimental inquiry as a questioning process, omitting data is seen to be merely an example of tentatively rejecting (‘bracketing’) some of nature’s answers. Such bracketing is not only occasionally permissible; sometimes it is mandated by optimal interrogative strategies. When to omit data is therefore a strategic rather than ethical question. These points are illustrated by reference to Millikan’s oil drop experiment.
Similar content being viewed by others
Reference
C. Babbage (1830) Reflections on the Decline of Science in England and on Some of Its Causes B. Fellowes London
Z. Bechler (1975) ArticleTitle“‘A Less Agreeable Matter”: The Disagreeable Case of Newton and Achromatic Refraction’ British Journal for the History of Science 8 101–126 Occurrence Handle10.1017/S0007087400013959
W. Broad N. Wade (1982) Betrayers of the Truth: Fraud and Deceit in the Halls of Science Simon & Schuster New York
A. Franklin (1981) ArticleTitle‘Millikan’s Published and Unpublished Data on Oil Drops’ Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences 11 185–201
A. Franklin (1986) The Neglect of Experiment Cambridge University Press Cambridge
J. Hintikka (1999) Inquiry as Inquiry (Selected Papers, v. 5) Kluwer Dordrecht
J. Hintikka (2004) ArticleTitle‘A Fallacious Fallacy?’ Synthese 140 25–35 Occurrence Handle10.1023/B:SYNT.0000029938.17953.10
Hintikka, J.: forthcoming, ‘The Indispensability of Mathematics and the A Priori Element in Experimental Science’.
G. Holton (1978) ArticleTitle‘Subelectrons, Presuppositions, and the Millikan–Ehrenhaft Dispute’ Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences 9 166–224
A. Kohn (1988) False Prophets: Fraud and Error in Science and Medicine rev. ed., Barnes and Noble New York
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hintikka, J. Omitting Data—Ethical or Strategic Problem?. Synthese 145, 169–176 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-005-3745-4
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-005-3745-4