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Current Trends in Philosophy of ScienceScientific Progress and the Search for Truth

Current Trends in Philosophy of Science: Scientific Progress and the Search for Truth [Scientific progress is popularly conceived in teleological terms. The goal is to find the complete true story about nature, or, perhaps more sensibly, the complete truth about the fundamental structure of nature. I argue that scientific progress is better understood as pragmatic progress, “progress from” rather than “progress to.” It consists in overcoming the difficulties and the limits of the current situation. This approach, pioneered by Thomas Kuhn and Larry Laudan, should be elaborated through explicit recognition of the role the sciences play in human life. Although we normally defer to scientific communities, trusting them to single out problems that are worth tackling (significant questions), judgments of significance are always subject to evaluation. Ethical values inevitably frame and constrain the progress of the sciences. As many writers have suspected, an approach of this kind emphases the practical deliverances of scientific inquiry. Does it leave a place for “pure” (or “basic”) research? I address this question in two ways. First, everyone should agree that the route to practical success often runs through studies with no pragmatic payoff. More importantly, we should recognize how the idea of any “disinterested search for the truth” comes very late in the history of inquiry. I deploy a speculative genealogy to show how it might have emerged, using my conjectural history to illuminate the supposed ideal of “contemplating the truth about nature.” Such reflection, I argue, does not focus on the structure of nature as it is, independently of human cognition and action, but on the organization of a world largely shaped by human goals and values.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

Current Trends in Philosophy of ScienceScientific Progress and the Search for Truth

Part of the Synthese Library Book Series (volume 462)
Editors: Gonzalez, Wenceslao J.
Kitcher, Philip
Current Trends in Philosophy of Science — Jul 26, 2022
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Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Copyright
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022
ISBN
978-3-031-01314-0
Pages
191 –206
DOI
10.1007/978-3-031-01315-7_9
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[Scientific progress is popularly conceived in teleological terms. The goal is to find the complete true story about nature, or, perhaps more sensibly, the complete truth about the fundamental structure of nature. I argue that scientific progress is better understood as pragmatic progress, “progress from” rather than “progress to.” It consists in overcoming the difficulties and the limits of the current situation. This approach, pioneered by Thomas Kuhn and Larry Laudan, should be elaborated through explicit recognition of the role the sciences play in human life. Although we normally defer to scientific communities, trusting them to single out problems that are worth tackling (significant questions), judgments of significance are always subject to evaluation. Ethical values inevitably frame and constrain the progress of the sciences. As many writers have suspected, an approach of this kind emphases the practical deliverances of scientific inquiry. Does it leave a place for “pure” (or “basic”) research? I address this question in two ways. First, everyone should agree that the route to practical success often runs through studies with no pragmatic payoff. More importantly, we should recognize how the idea of any “disinterested search for the truth” comes very late in the history of inquiry. I deploy a speculative genealogy to show how it might have emerged, using my conjectural history to illuminate the supposed ideal of “contemplating the truth about nature.” Such reflection, I argue, does not focus on the structure of nature as it is, independently of human cognition and action, but on the organization of a world largely shaped by human goals and values.]

Published: Jul 26, 2022

Keywords: Scientific progress; Pragmatism; Science and values; Truth; Basic research; Knowledge for its own sake

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