Empiricism and the Epistemology of Instruments

The Monist 78 (2):207-229 (1995)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

There are scientific theories that can be tested only through the use of instruments. Thus, we use, for example, instruments such as microscopes, telescopes, Wilson cloud chambers, and so on, to test theories. This use of instruments in science has been pointed out often by philosophers of science, who then correctly draw the conclusion that what is tested is not so much a single theory T but rather a conjunction.

Categories

Keywords

Reprint years

ISBN(s)

00269662

DOI

10.5840/monist199578215

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 93,867

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

My notes

Similar books and articles

The Theory‐Dependence of the Use of Instruments in Science.Alan Chalmers - 2003 - Philosophy of Science 70 (3):493-509.
Five Theses on Instrumental Realism.Davis Baird - 1988 - PSA Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1988 (1):164-173.
Contraries And Counterweights.Peter McLaughlin - 2001 - The Monist 84 (4):562-581.
The Invisible World: Early Modern Philosophy and the Invention of the Microscope. [REVIEW]John W. Yolton - 1996 - Review of Metaphysics 50 (1):195-198.
Naturalizing Metaphysics.Simon Saunders - 1997 - The Monist 80 (1):44-69.
Scientific Evidence: Creating and Evaluating Experimental Instruments and Research Techniques.William Bechtel - 1990 - PSA Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1990 (1):558-572.
Data, Instruments and Theory: A Dialectical Approach to Understanding Science. [REVIEW]Ian Hacking - 1987 - Philosophical Review 96 (3):444-447.
Scientific Instruments and Epistemology Engines.Tomáš Dvořák - 2012 - Teorie Vědy / Theory of Science 34 (4):529-540.
Models as Mediating Instruments.Margaret Morrison & Mary S. Morgan - 1999 - In Mary S. Morgan & Margaret Morrison (eds.), Models as Mediators: Perspectives on Natural and Social Science. Cambridge University Press.
Instruments in Science and Technology.Mieke Boon - 2012 - In Jan Kyrre Berg Olsen Friis, Stig Andur Pedersen & Vincent F. Hendricks (eds.), A Companion to the Philosophy of Technology. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 78–83.

Analytics

Added to PP
2012-03-18

Downloads
60 (#261,087)

6 months
4 (#1,004,663)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Citations of this work

Galileo's lunar observations: do they imply the rejection of traditional lunar theory?Fred Wilson - 2001 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 32 (3):557-570.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references