Epistemic Stances Towards Methods

What types of epistemic stances can be taken by epistemic agents towards methods?

Since epistemic stances can be taken towards norms, it is important to know what types of stances can be taken towards them.

In the scientonomic context, this question was first formulated in 2015. The question is currently accepted as a legitimate topic for discussion by Scientonomy community.

In Scientonomy, the accepted answers to the question can be summarized as follows:

• The stance of compatibility can be taken towards an epistemic element.
• The stance of norm employment can be taken towards a normative theory.
• The stances of theory acceptance, theory pursuit and theory use can be taken towards a theory.

Scientonomic History

Acceptance Record

Here is the complete acceptance record of this question (it includes all the instances when the question was accepted as a legitimate topic for discussion by a community):

Community	Accepted From	Acceptance Indicators	Still Accepted	Accepted Until	Rejection Indicators
Scientonomy	1 April 2016	This is when the community accepted its first answer to this question, Epistemic Stances Towards Methods - Employment (Barseghyan-2015), which indicates that the question itself is legitimate.	Yes

All Theories

The following theories have attempted to answer this question:

Theory	Formulation	Formulated In
Epistemic Stances Towards Methods - Employment (Barseghyan-2015)	The list of possible stances towards a method is limited to employment.	2015

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Accepted Theories

The following theories have been accepted as answers to this question:

Community	Theory	Accepted From	Accepted Until
Scientonomy	Epistemic Stances Towards Methods - Employment (Barseghyan-2015)	1 January 2016	1 September 2019

Suggested Modifications

According to our records, there have been no suggested modifications on this topic.

Current View

In Scientonomy, the accepted answers to the question are Epistemic Stances Towards Epistemic Elements - Compatibility (Fraser-Sarwar-2018), Epistemic Stances Towards Normative Theories - Norm Employment (Barseghyan-2018), Epistemic Stances Towards Theories - Theory Acceptance (Barseghyan-2015), Epistemic Stances Towards Theories - Theory Pursuit (Barseghyan-2015) and Epistemic Stances Towards Theories - Theory Use (Barseghyan-2015).

Epistemic Stances Towards Epistemic Elements

Epistemic Stances Towards Epistemic Elements - Compatibility (Fraser-Sarwar-2018) states: "The stance of compatibility can be taken towards an epistemic element."

Fraser and Sarwar argued that, as an epistemic stance, compatibility can be taken towards epistemic elements of all types.1p. 70

Epistemic Stances Towards Normative Theories

Epistemic Stances Towards Normative Theories - Norm Employment (Barseghyan-2018) states: "The stance of norm employment can be taken towards a normative theory."

In his "Redrafting the Ontology of Scientific Change", Barseghyan argued that since norms are a subtype of theory, all the epistemic stances that can in principle be taken by an epistemic agent towards theories of all types can also be taken towards norms. In addition to these more universal stances, norms can also be employed, i.e. they have the capacity of constituting the actual expectations of the epistemic agent. This applies to norms of all types.2

Epistemic Stances Towards Theories

Epistemic Stances Towards Theories - Theory Acceptance (Barseghyan-2015) states: "The stance of theory acceptance can be taken towards a theory."

According to Barseghyan, acceptance as an epistemic stance can be taken towards theories.3pp. 30-32

Epistemic Stances Towards Theories - Theory Pursuit (Barseghyan-2015) states: "The stance of theory pursuit can be taken towards a theory."

According to Barseghyan, the epistemic stance of pursuit can be taken towards theories, i.e. an epistemic agent can find a theory pursuitworthy.3pp. 30-40

Epistemic Stances Towards Theories - Theory Use (Barseghyan-2015) states: "The stance of theory use can be taken towards a theory."

According to Barseghyan, the epistemic stance of use can be taken towards theories, i.e. an epistemic agent can find a theory useful.3pp. 30-40

Related Topics

This question is a subquestion of Epistemic Stances Towards Normative Theories. It has the following sub-topic(s):

• Scientificity of Methods