Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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| Method: a method is a procedure agreed on by participants of a discussion or research project. In the case of violations of a method, the comparability of the results is in particular questioned, since these no longer come from a set with uniformly defined properties of the elements._____________Annotation: The above characterizations of concepts are neither definitions nor exhausting presentations of problems related to them. Instead, they are intended to give a short introduction to the contributions below. – Lexicon of Arguments. | |||
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P. Duhem on Method - Dictionary of Arguments
I 250 Method/Duhem: The method of ad absurdum guiding can become an evidence. In order to prove that a theorem is correct, it is sufficient to drive the exactly opposite theorem into an absurd consequence. The Greek mathematicians had made extended use of this method. Those who equate the experimental contradiction with the ad absurdum guiding mean that one makes equal use in physics as in geometry. That's not right. The name experimentum Crucis refers to a crossroad of the decision. E.g. there are two hypotheses about the nature of the light. I 251 For Newton, Laplace, and Biot light consists of projectiles. For Huygens, Fresnel et al. it consists of vibrations. According to the first, light moves faster in water than in the air. Foucault's experiment with rotating mirrors proves that the greenish strip ... appears at a certain point. The dispute is decided, light is not a body, but a vibration propagating in the ether. DuhemVs: The experiment of Foucault does not decide between two hypotheses of emission and undulation, but between two theoretical groups, which must be taken as a whole, between two complete systems of Newton's optics and Huygens' optics. >Hypotheses, >Theories. I 252 But let us assume that both are correct. In addition to two theorems of geometry that contradict each other, there is no place for a third. This is different in physics. I 253 Experiment/Method/Duhem: One cannot reconstruct the form of ad absurdum guiding with the experimental method. The geometry, however, also has the direct proof, but it cannot be comprehended in the experiment either. >Experiments, >Observation. I 260 E.g. the theoretician cannot only use the Kepler laws for justification, since these are determined solely by the concrete individual objects. He must show that the observed disturbances coincide with the previously calculated ones. --- I 278 Method/Duhem: Interlocutor: The discussion that leads to a theory is a link, it is not justified to seek in it a physical sense. The demand that every mathematical operation used in the course is given a physical sense would inhibit the progress. One has also tried to ban the differential calculus for physics. >Calculus._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Duh I P. Duhem La théorie physique, son objet et sa structure, Paris 1906 German Edition: Ziel und Struktur der physikalischen Theorien Hamburg 1998 |
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Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-19