Realist foundations of measurement
Philosophy of Science 40 (1):10-28 (1973)
| Abstract | This paper defends a realist interpretation of theories and a modest realism concerning the existence of quantities as providing the best account both of the logic of quantity concepts and of scientific measurement practices. Various operationist analyses of measurement are shown to be inadequate accounts of measurement practices used by scientists. We argue, furthermore, that appeals to implicit definitions to provide meaning for theoretical terms over and above operational definitions fail because implicit definitions cannot generate the requisite descriptive content. The special case of establishing a temperature scale is examined to show that nonrealist accounts fail to provide insight into the theoretical connections that scientific laws postulate to hold among quantities | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,631 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesAldo Frigerio, Alessandro Giordani & Luca Mari (2010). Outline of a General Model of Measurement. Synthese 175 (2):123-149.
Michael Katz (1981). Łukasiewicz Logic and the Foundations of Measurement. Studia Logica 40 (3):209 - 225.
Michael Dickson (1995). An Empirical Reply to Empiricism: Protective Measurement Opens the Door for Quantum Realism. Philosophy of Science 62 (1):122-140.
Jeffrey Helzner (2012). On the Representation of Error. Synthese 186 (2):601-613.
J. Brakel (1990). Units of Measurement and Natural Kinds: Some Kripkean Considerations. Erkenntnis 33 (3):297 - 317.
Henry E. Kyburg (ed.) (1984). Theory and Measurement. Cambridge University Press.
Zoltan Domotor & Vadim Batitsky (2008). The Analytic Versus Representational Theory of Measurement: A Philosophy of Science Perspective. Measurement Science Review 8 (6):129-146.
Brigitte Falkenburg (1997). Incommensurability and Measurement. Theoria 12 (3):467-491.
Luca Mari (2005). The Problem of Foundations of Measurement. Measurement 38 (4):259-266.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads8 ( #122,917 of 548,973 )Recent downloads (6 months)1 ( #63,511 of 548,973 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
