Did Duhem Show That Scientific Theories Can Be Neither True
Beginning of paper
The question as to whether scientific theories can be shown to be true or false is a complex one. The answer depends on one's interpretation of the meaning of theory. To what does it refer? Is its role to reveal the nature of reality, or is it merely a human construct? In which case what do we mean ....
Middle of paper
.... of a physical (which we can equate to 'scientific') theory. The first being that it is an explanation of the reality lying behind a group of experimental laws (those that are empirically determined). The second is that a physical theory is simply an abstract system to classify and summarize a group of laws.
Taking the first possibility (a belief still held by many today): this seeks to look beneath the sensible appearances and find the reality beneath, which is causing the sensations we exper ....
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Word count: 1840
Page count: 7 (approximately 250 words per page)
