Mechanism of Theory Rejection
How do theories become rejected? What is the mechanism of theory rejection?
Theory rejection is a necessary part of scientific change. Any theory of scientific change requires a means to explain how a theory becomes rejected.
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.
In Scientonomy, the accepted answer to the question is:
- A theory becomes rejected when other elements that are incompatible with the theory become part of the mosaic.
Scientonomic History
Acceptance Record
| Community | Accepted From | Acceptance Indicators | Still Accepted | Accepted Until | Rejection Indicators |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scientonomy | 1 January 2016 | 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. | Yes |
All Theories
| Theory | Formulation | Formulated In |
|---|---|---|
| Theory Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-2015) | A theory becomes rejected only when other theories that are incompatible with the theory become accepted. | 2015 |
| Theory Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-Pandey-2023) | A theory becomes rejected when other elements that are incompatible with the theory become part of the mosaic. | 2023 |
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Accepted Theories
| Community | Theory | Accepted From | Accepted Until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scientonomy | Theory Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-2015) | 1 January 2016 | 22 February 2024 |
| Scientonomy | Theory Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-Pandey-2023) | 22 February 2024 |
Suggested Modifications
| Modification | Community | Date Suggested | Summary | Date Assessed | Verdict | Verdict Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sciento-2023-0002 | Scientonomy | 28 December 2023 | Accept new formulations of the first law for theories, norms, and questions that are in tune with the formulation of the first law. Also accept new formulations of the respective rejection theorems - theory rejection, norm rejection, and question rejection. | 22 January 2024 | Accepted | During the 2024 workshop, the bulk of the discussion centered around the inclusion of the first law for norms and norm rejection theorem in the set of formulations to be accepted. Paul Patton contended that norm employment in general had not been demonstrated to be lawful beyond method employment, and our basic formulations should instead concern norm acceptance, which is patently lawful. He argued that the formulations should be modified to pertain either to methods only or to norm acceptance. It was decided that if the community were to remain uncomfortable with accepting Pandey’s new formulations, a revote would likely also need to be taken on Rawleigh’s Sciento-2022-0002, given that the issue of norm employment was also highlighted in discussions of that modification. After extensive discussion, Barseghyan suggested that the first law for norms would only apply to situations where behavior was norm-guided to begin with, which would skirt the difficulty that faces even behavioural psychologists of determining whether human behaviour in general is lawful. The majority of the community was comfortable with this workaround, and the modification was ultimately accepted with over 2/3rds majority assenting, with 11/14 votes to accept (although 1 voter voted to reject the modification and 2 voted to keep it open). |
Current View
In Scientonomy, the accepted answer to the question is Theory Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-Pandey-2023).
Theory Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-Pandey-2023) states: "A theory becomes rejected when other elements that are incompatible with the theory become part of the mosaic."
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According to Pandey's new formulation of the theory rejection theorem, a theory becomes rejected only when other epistemic elements that are incompatible with the theory become accepted. This formulation differs from Barseghyan's original formulation in that it allows a theory to be replaced by an epistemic element of any type, not just by other theories. In other respects, Pandey's formulation is similar to Barseghyan's.
Implicit in both theorems is the idea that each theory is assessed on an "individual basis by its compatibility with the propositions of the newly accepted theory".1p. 168 If it turns out that a previously accepted theory is compatible with the newly accepted theory, it remain in the agent's mosaic.
Although we normally expect a theory to be replaced by another theory in the same "field" of inquiry, Barseghyan and Pandey both agree that this is not necessarily the case. For example, Barseghyan writes, "HSC knows several cases where an accepted theory became rejected simply because it wasn’t compatible with new accepted theories of some other fields".1p. 171 Similarly, Pandey provides several examples of this phenomenon in Dilemma of The First Law.2
Barseghyan summarizes the theory rejection theorem as such:
In short, when the axioms of a theory are replaced by another theory, some of the theorems may nevertheless manage to stay in the mosaic, provided that they are compatible with the newly accepted theory. This is essentially what the theory rejection theorem tells us. Thus, if someday our currently accepted general relativity gets replaced by some new theory, the theories that followed from general relativity, such as the theory of black holes, may nevertheless manage to remain in the mosaic. 1p. 171
Related Topics
This question is a subquestion of Mechanism of Scientific Change.
It has the following sub-topic(s):
This topic is also related to the following topic(s):
References
- a b c Barseghyan, Hakob. (2015) The Laws of Scientific Change. Springer.
- ^ Pandey, Aayu. (2023) Dilemma of the First Law. Scientonomy 5, 25-46. Retrieved from https://scientojournal.com/index.php/scientonomy/article/view/42258.