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Strong Scientific Theories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

John Henry Harris
John Henry Harris*
Affiliation:
Princeton University
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Abstract

Question: What is a (or the) scientific theory V based on a set B of syntactical L -formulas, interpreted according to the intended interpretations of the language L? What probably corresponds to the traditional candidate for V is found to be inadequate for use in deductively explaining experimental facts of a certain form. A second candidate for V, called a strong scientific theory (SST), does not suffer such an inadequacy because it is existentially strong, i.e., it has considerable existential import. It even satisfies the particle physicist's dictum: WHAT IS NOT FORBIDDEN WILL HAPPEN.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , June 1978 , pp. 182 - 205
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1978

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Footnotes

†

Earlier versions of this paper were presented at philosophy colloquia at the Universities of Washington, Colorado and Illinois (Urbana) and at the Boston Colloquium for the Philosophy of Science.

References

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