Verosimilitude and the epistemic status of scientific theories
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.ef.12735Keywords:
Popper, verisimilitude, epistemic status, scientfic theories, scientific knowledgeAbstract
In this paper, I examine the problem of the epistemic status of scientific theories from the point of view of Poppers epistemology. Starting with the controversial statement “no scientific theory is true”, (A) which is a good candidate to express in a synthetic way certain fundamental implications of Poppers theory of verisimilitude, I analyze some criticisms against the fallibbilist view of science and suggest ways of adequately developing the meaning of (A), together with the meaning of other statements from the same family. I shall argue that only by means of these statements can we develop a good understanding of the scientific enterprise, and that they do not represent the collapse of epistemology. In addition, I shall show how to give a construal of these statements in such a way that they remain immune to the commonest criticisms. Furthermore, I shall examine the sense of the locution “scientific knowledge” with the purpose of showing that it is not advisable to interpret it according to the traditional sense of the word “knowledge”. I shall conclude that if we give a nuanced construal of (A) and its relatives, we will be in a better position to obtain a functional representation of the business of science.
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References
GARCÍA, C. Popper’s Theory of Science: An Apologia. Continuum Books, London, 2006.
LEWIS, D. Languages and language, en: Martinich, A. P. (ed.). The Philosophy of Language. Oxford University Press, New York, 1985.
POPPER, K. The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Hutchinson, London, 1959. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3060577
____________. Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge. Routledge & K., London, 1963.
____________. Objective Knowledge: An Evolutionary Approach. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1972.
____________. Realism and the Aim of Science. Hutchinson, London, 1983.
____________. In search of a Better World: Lectures and Essays from Thirty Years. Routledge, New York, 1992.
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Copyright (c) 2007 Carlos Emilio García Duque
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