Method Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-2015)

This is an answer to the question Mechanism of Method Rejection that states "A method ceases to be employed only when other methods that are incompatible with the method become employed."

Method Rejection theorem was formulated by Hakob Barseghyan in 2015.1

Scientonomic History

Acceptance Record

Here is the complete acceptance record of this theory:

Community	Accepted From	Acceptance Indicators	Still Accepted	Accepted Until	Rejection Indicators
Scientonomy	1 January 2016	The theorem became de facto accepted by the community at that time together with the whole theory of scientific change.	No	22 February 2024	The theorem was rejected as a result of the acceptance of modification Sciento-2023-0002. It was replaced by Norm Rejection theorem (Pandey-2023).

Suggestions To Reject

These are all the modifications where the rejection of this theory has been suggested:

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).

Question Answered

Method Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-2015) is an attempt to answer the following question: How do methods become rejected? What is the mechanism of method rejection?

See Mechanism of Method Rejection for more details.

Description

According to the method rejection theorem, a method ceases to be employed only when other methods that are incompatible with it become employed. By the First Law for methods, an employed method will remain employed until it is replaced by other methods. By the Zeroth Law, the elements of the scientific mosaic must be compatible with one another. Thus, a method can only become rejected when it is replaced by an incompatible method or methods1p. 172-176.

Reasons

Reason: Method Rejection Theorem Deduction

By the first law for methods, an employed method will remain employed until it is replaced by other methods. By the compatibility corollary, the elements of the scientific mosaic are compatible with each other at any moment of time. Thus, a method can only become rejected when it is replaced by an incompatible method or methods.1pp. 172-176 2pp. 72-74

This reason for Method Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-2015) was formulated by Patrick Fraser and Ameer Sarwar in 2018.2

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Questions About This Theory

The following higher-order questions concerning this theory have been suggested:

• Tautological Status of Method Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-2015)

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