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Mechanism of Theory Rejection (view source)
Revision as of 21:28, 22 November 2021
, 21:28, 22 November 2021no edit summary
|Description=Theory rejection is a necessary part of [[Mechanism of Scientific Change|scientific change]]. Any theory of scientific change requires a means to explain how a theory becomes rejected.
Some well-known examples of theory rejection are the rejections of the various theories that made up the [[Aristotle|Aristotelian]]-Scholastic mosaic by the end of the 17th century. These theories included geocentrism, the four elements, the four causes, and natural astrology. They were replaced in the mosaic by the various theories of [[Rene Descartes|Cartesian]] and [[Isaac Newton|Newtonian]] science. [[CiteRef::Barseghyan (2015)|pp. 167-172]]
Another classical example of theory rejection is the rejection of the phlogiston theory of combustion in the eighteenth century. The theory was introduced by George Stahl (1660-1734) to explain the process of the calcination used to prepare metals from their ores. Flammable substances such as wood were said to be rich in phlogiston, which was released by combustion. Metals were thought to be compounds of the metal`s calx and phlogiston. Metals were prepared from their calx by placing them in burning wood charcoal, which was thought to result in the transfer of phlogiston from the burning charcoal to the calx. The theory was further developed by Henry Cavendish (1731-1810) and Joseph Priestley (1733-1804). The Chemical Revolution brought greater attention to precise measurement of chemical processes, and it was found that the metal calx weighed more than the metal end product. While this led some to posit that phlogiston had negative weight, Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794) supposed instead that a substance he called `oxygen` was released from the calx (which is now known as the metal`s oxide) during the formation of the metal. The phlogiston theory was rejected when the oxygen theory of combustion was accepted into the mosaic. [[CiteRef::Weisberg, Needham, and Hendry (20102011)]]
|Parent Topic=Mechanism of Scientific Change
|Authors List=Hakob Barseghyan,
|Formulated Year=2015
|Prehistory=The question about the rejection of theories has been an important one throughout the history of science. Many philosophers of science have attempted to provide an answer to the question of how scientific theories get rejected. Both rationalists and empiricists thought that empirical theories can be rejected or disproved in an incontrovertible manner. Believing that there is an absolute method of science, they contended that theories are assessed by this method, and if they fail to satisfy the method’s requirements, they are conclusively rejected.[[CiteRef::Laudan (1970a)]] [[Immanuel Kant]] echoed their beliefs. He held that scientific theories (especially Newtonian mechanics) are synthetic ''a priori''. As their knowledge is gained independently of experience but is nevertheless synthetic, theories can never be rejected as no empirical evidence can contradict them.[[CiteRef::Kant (1781)]]
Building on the ideas of his predecessors, the later [[Larry Laudan]] proposed the reticulated model in his book [[Laudan (1984a)|''Science and Values'']]. '''Reticulated model''' posits that the values, methodologies, and theories of a given scientific community at a particular time mutually influence each other. It is through the interaction of epistemic values and scientific methodologies that theories are modified or rejected. Therefore, for Laudan, the expectations of the contingent, historical scientific community and its methodologies lead to the rejection of theories.[[CiteRef::Laudan (1984a)]] Laudan’s ideas are arguably significant preludes to the foundations of scientonomy.
|History=|Current View=|Related Topics=Mechanism of Theory Acceptance,
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|Acceptance Indicators=This is when the community accepted its first answer to this question, [[Theory Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-2015)]], which indicates that the question is itself legitimate.
|Still Accepted=Yes
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|Accepted Until Approximate=No
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