Ludwig Boltzmann's bildtheorie and scientific understanding
Synthese 119 (1-2):113-134 (1999)
| Abstract | Boltzmann’s Bildtheorie, which asserts that scientific theories are ‘mental pictures’ having at best a partial similarity to reality, was a core element of his philosophy of science. The aim of this article is to draw attention to a neglected aspect of it, namely its significance for the issue of scientific explanation and understanding, regarded by Boltzmann as central goals of science. I argue that, in addition to being an epistemological view of the interpretation of scientific theories Boltzmann’s Bildtheorie has implications for the nature of scientific understanding. This aspect has as yet been ignored because discussion of the Bildtheorie has been restricted to the realism-instrumentalism debate. To elucidate my analysis of Boltzmann’s Bildtheorie concrete examples are presented, and the pragmatist and Darwinist roots of Boltzmann’s view are discussed. Moreover, I propose to use Boltzmann’s ideas as a starting-point for developing a novel analysis of the notion of scientific understanding, of which a brief impression is given. It shows that the study of Boltzmann’s philosophy is not only of historical interest but can be relevant also to modern philosophy of science and to the methodology of theoretical physics. | |||||||||
| 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: 5,664 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesSetsuko Tanaka (1999). Boltzmann on Mathematics. Synthese 119 (1-2):203-232.
Gustav Jäger, Josef Nabl & Stephan Meyer (1999). Three Assistants on Boltzmann. Synthese 119 (1-2):69-84.
Antonio Augusto Passos Videira (2005). Boltzmann, Darwin E as Leis Do Pensamento. Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia 61 (1):225 - 245.
Juan Ignacio GÓMez Tutor (2004). Die Atomistik Bei Ludwig Boltzmann. Zur Wissenschaftlichen Und Philosophischen Bedeutung Einer Kontroversen Position Am Ende Des 19. Jahrhunderts. Journal for General Philosophy of Science 35 (2):371 - 384.
John Blackmore (1999). Boltzmann and Epistemology. Synthese 119 (1-2):157-189.
Henk Visser (1999). Boltzmann and Wittgenstein or How Pictures Became Linguistic. Synthese 119 (1-2):135-156.
Henk W. Regt (2005). Scientific Realism in Action: Molecular Models and Boltzmann's Bildtheorie. Erkenntnis 63 (2):205 - 230.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads24 ( #51,571 of 549,010 )Recent downloads (6 months)3 ( #25,706 of 549,010 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
