Modification:Sciento-2019-0016

Accept the definition of epistemic tool, stating that a physical object or system is an epistemic tool for an epistemic agent, when there is a procedure by which the tool can provide an acceptable source of knowledge for answering some question under the employed method of that agent.

The modification was suggested to Scientonomy community by Paul Patton on 26 December 2019.1 The modification is currently being evaluated; a verdict is pending.

Preamble

Tools and instruments, from a thermometer or a ruler to the Large Hadron Collider or the Hubble Space Telescope clearly play a central role in the process of scientific change. 1 However, the role of tools and instruments within scientonomy has not been defined. Existing roles available within scientonomic theory do not seem appropriate. It does not seem plausible, for example, to treat tools and instruments as subjects of authority delegation. This is because scientific data is itself a kind of theory, and therefore requires assessment under the employed method of the time. A tool or instrument is not capable of assessing its own data under the employed method, since that would require cognitive abilities, such as the ability to semantically understand propositions, which are still beyond the bounds of current artificial intelligence. 1 A new role for tools and instruments within scientonomy thus needs to be defined. The new role posited has to do with the role of epistemic tools in the concrete requirements of the employed method of an epistemic agent.

Modification

Accept that the following symbol is to be used in scientonomic diagrams to depict epistemic tools:

Theories To Accept

• Epistemic Tool (Patton-2019): A physical object or system is an epistemic tool for an epistemic agent iff there is a procedure by which the tool can provide an acceptable source of knowledge for answering some question under the employed method of that agent.

Questions Answered

This modification attempts to answer the following question(s):

• Epistemic Tool: What is epistemic tool? How should it be defined?

Verdict

The modification is currently being evaluated; a verdict is pending.

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