N-rays and the semantic view of scientific progress

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A

Publication Date

6-1-2008

Volume

39

Issue

2

First Page

277

Last Page

278

Keywords

Scientific progress, Goal of inquiry, Value problem, Alexander Bird

Abstract

This paper challenges a recent argument of Bird’s, which involves imagining that Réné Blondlot’s belief in N-rays was true, in favour of the view that scientific progress should be understood in terms of knowledge rather than truth. By considering several variants of Bird’s thought-experiment, it shows that the semantic account of progress cannot be so easily vanquished. A key possibility is that justification is only instrumental in, and not partly constitutive of, progress.

DOI

10.1016/j.shpsa.2008.03.010

Print ISSN

00393681

E-ISSN

18792510

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Ltd

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Rowbottom, D. P. (2008). Intersubjective corroboration. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A, 39(2), 277-278. doi: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2008.03.010

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