HPS100H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 8: Instrumentalism, Deferent And Epicycle, Geocentric Model

• School: UTSG
• Department: History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
• Course: HPS100H1
• Professor: Hakob Barseghyan

Document Summary

Prediction and explanation: the ability to explain relevant data is something we desire in a theory. Explanation: (retroactive prediction)- a theory is said to explain a piece of data or observation if one could have predicted the data or observations from the theory. E(cid:454): ei(cid:374)stei(cid:374)"s theo(cid:396)(cid:455), (cid:449)hi(cid:272)h (cid:449)as de(cid:448)eloped i(cid:374) the (cid:1005)9(cid:1004)(cid:1004)s (cid:272)ould e(cid:454)plai(cid:374) the pe(cid:272)ulia(cid:396)ities of me(cid:396)(cid:272)u(cid:396)(cid:455)"s orbit: ex: (cid:374)e(cid:449)to(cid:374)"s theo(cid:396)(cid:455) a(cid:271)out g(cid:396)a(cid:448)it(cid:455) e(cid:454)plains that falling objects accelerate at a certain rate (10 m/s^2) Explanation is far more straight forward compared to understanding (more complex, controversial and complicated) Instrumentalist: an adequate theory must not only predict and explain, but in addition it must reflect the way things really are. Ptolemy and instrumentalist view on copernican system ( it was viewed as a convenient. Hps100 theory for making predictions and explanations despite people not thinking it reflected the ways things really were)