HPS100H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Scientific Method, Corpuscular Theory Of Light, Blood Transfusion
9 Jan 2020
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History and philosophy of science lecture 3- scientific method. Acceptance, use and pursuit: acceptance: a theory is said to be accepted if it is taken as the best available description of its object. The object could be something physical (falling apple, revolving planet), something social (group of people, individual person, social institution like the government) or formal (a number or logical relation). Different: use: a theory is said to be used if it is taken as an adequate tool for practical application. It is used regardless of whether or not it is accepted: pursuit: a theory is said to be accepted if it is worthy of further development. There may or may not be any particular use for it but it may be worth further elaboration (work in that direction). Ex: einstein"s ideas of space and time- there wasn"t enough information to present a theory, but it was worth elaborating on his ideas.
