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Single Idea 13067
[filed under theme 14. Science / B. Scientific Theories / 3. Instrumentalism
]
Full Idea
There is a centuries-old philosophical tradition, sometimes referred to by the name of 'instrumentalism', that has denied the claim that science has explanatory power. For the instrumentalists there are no scientific explanations.
Gist of Idea
For the instrumentalists there are no scientific explanations
Source
Wesley Salmon (Four Decades of Scientific Explanation [1989], 4.3)
Book Ref
Salmon,Wesley C.: 'Four Decades of Scientific Explanation', ed/tr. Humphreys,Paul [Pittsburgh 2006], p.132
A Reaction
[He quotes Coffa] Presumably it is just a matter of matching the world to the readings on the instruments, aiming at van Fraassen's 'empirical adequacy'. If there are no scientific explanations, does that mean that there are no explanations at all? Daft!
The
14 ideas
with the same theme
[scientific truth is just what works in our theories]:
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18982
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Pragmatism says all theories are instrumental - that is, mental modes of adaptation to reality
[James]
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18985
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True thoughts are just valuable instruments of action
[James]
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7621
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Special relativity, unlike general relativity, was operationalist in spirit
[Putnam on Einstein]
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13940
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All linguistic forms in science are merely judged by their efficiency as instruments
[Carnap]
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17665
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The 'Tractatus' is instrumentalist about laws of nature
[Wittgenstein, by Armstrong]
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17658
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Users of digital thermometers recognise no temperatures in the gaps
[Goodman]
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4713
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For Quine, theories are instruments used to make predictions about observations
[Quine, by O'Grady]
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13067
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For the instrumentalists there are no scientific explanations
[Salmon]
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14204
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Naïve operationalism would have meanings change every time the tests change
[Putnam]
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16057
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Instrumentalism normally says some discourse is useful, but not genuinely true
[Horgan,T]
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17704
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Operationalism defines concepts by our ways of measuring them
[Mares]
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6778
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Instrumentalists regard theories as tools for prediction, with truth being irrelevant
[Bird]
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22197
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Theories aren't just for organising present experience if they concern the past or future
[Gorham]
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22196
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For most scientists their concepts are not just useful, but are meant to be true and accurate
[Gorham]
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