Nature of Appraisal
What is the nature of theory appraisal? Does actual theory assessment concern an individual theory taken in isolation from other theories?
Theory appraisal refers to how we assess a theory to determine whether to accept it. From ancient times up until the mid-twentieth century, it was widely supposed that theories were appraised in isolation from one another; a position known as absolute appraisal. Once fallibilism became widely accepted, it was suggested instead that theory appraisal is a comparative matter, in which the relative merits of competing theories were assessed. Contextual appraisal contends that a theory is assessed only in relation to the entire mosaic of accepted theories and employed methods. For the historian, several elements must be considered in order to avoid committing anachronisms.
In the scientonomic context, this question was first formulated by Hakob Barseghyan in 2015. The question is currently accepted as a legitimate topic for discussion by Scientonomy community. There is currently no accepted answer to this question in Scientonomy.
Contents
Scientonomic History
Acceptance Record
Community | Accepted From | Acceptance Indicators | Still Accepted | Accepted Until | Rejection Indicators |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scientonomy | 1 January 2016 | That is when the community accepted its first answer to this question, Contextual Appraisal theorem (Barseghyan-2015), which indicates that the question is itself considered legitimate. | Yes |
All Theories
Theory | Formulation | Formulated In |
---|---|---|
Contextual Appraisal theorem (Barseghyan-2015) | Theory assessment is an assessment of a proposed modification of the mosaic by the method employed at the time. | 2015 |
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Accepted Theories
Community | Theory | Accepted From | Accepted Until |
---|---|---|---|
Scientonomy | Contextual Appraisal theorem (Barseghyan-2015) | 1 January 2016 |
Suggested Modifications
Current View
At the moment, the question has no accepted answer in Scientonomy.
Related Topics
This question is a subquestion of Mechanism of Theory Acceptance.
References
- ^ Laudan, Larry. (1970) Commentary. In Stuewer (Ed.) (1970), 127-132; 230-238.
- ^ Laudan, Larry. (1968) Theories of Scientific Method from Plato to Mach: A Bibliographical Review. History of Science 7, 1-63.
- ^ Laudan, Larry. (1981) Science and Hypothesis. Historical Essays on Scientific Methodology. D. Reidel Publishing Company.
- ^ Laudan, Larry. (1996) Beyond Positivism and Relativism. Theory, Method, and Evidence. Westview Press.
- a b Lakatos, Imre. (1970) Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes. In Lakatos (1978a), 8-101.
- a b Barseghyan, Hakob. (2015) The Laws of Scientific Change. Springer.
- ^ Popper, Karl. (1959) The Logic of Scientific Discovery. Hutchinson & Co.
- a b Kuhn, Thomas. (1962) The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press.
- ^ Kuhn, Thomas. (1974) Second Thoughts on Paradigms. In Suppe (Ed.) (1974), 459-482.
- ^ Lakatos, Imre. (1971) History of Science and Its Rational Reconstructions. In Lakatos (1978a), 102-138.
- ^ Laudan, Larry. (1984) Science and Values. University of California Press.