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Full Idea
Experiments differ from observational studies in that experiments usually involve intervening in some way in the natural order to see if altering something about that order causes a change in the response of that order.
Gist of Idea
Experiments don't just observe; they look to see what interventions change the natural order
Source
Stephen Boulter (Why Medieval Philosophy Matters [2019], 2)
Book Ref
Boulter,Stephen: 'Why Medieval Philosophy Matters' [Bloomsbury 2019], p.58
A Reaction
Not convinced by this. Lots of experiments isolate a natural process, rather than 'intervening'. Chemists constantly purify substances. Particle accelerators pick out things to accelerate. Does 'intervening' in nature even make sense?
22134 | Thoughts are general, but the world isn't, so how can we think accurately? [Boulter] |
22135 | Our concepts can never fully capture reality, but simplification does not falsify [Boulter] |
22138 | Science rests on scholastic metaphysics, not on Hume, Kant or Carnap [Boulter] |
22139 | Experiments don't just observe; they look to see what interventions change the natural order [Boulter] |
22136 | Science begins with sufficient reason, de-animation, and the importance of nature [Boulter] |
22150 | Logical possibility needs the concepts of the proposition to be adequate [Boulter] |
22152 | Aristotelians accept the analytic-synthetic distinction [Boulter] |
22156 | The facts about human health are the measure of the values in our lives [Boulter] |