more on this theme | more from this text
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] |