TY - JOUR
T1 - Bringing thought experiments back into the philosophy of science
AU - Levy, Arnon
AU - Currie, Adrian
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024
PY - 2024/6
Y1 - 2024/6
N2 - To a large extent, the evidential base of claims in the philosophy of science has switched from thought experiments to case studies. We argue that abandoning thought experiments was a wrong turn, since they can effectively complement case studies. We make our argument via an analogy with the relationship between experiments and observations within science. Just as experiments and ‘natural’ observations can together evidence claims in science, each mitigating the downsides of the other, so too can thought experiments and case studies be mutually supporting. After presenting the main argument, we look at potential concerns about thought experiments, suggesting that a judiciously applied mixed-methods approach can overcome them.
AB - To a large extent, the evidential base of claims in the philosophy of science has switched from thought experiments to case studies. We argue that abandoning thought experiments was a wrong turn, since they can effectively complement case studies. We make our argument via an analogy with the relationship between experiments and observations within science. Just as experiments and ‘natural’ observations can together evidence claims in science, each mitigating the downsides of the other, so too can thought experiments and case studies be mutually supporting. After presenting the main argument, we look at potential concerns about thought experiments, suggesting that a judiciously applied mixed-methods approach can overcome them.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85193565542&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.shpsa.2024.04.002
DO - 10.1016/j.shpsa.2024.04.002
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C2 - 38781705
AN - SCOPUS:85193565542
SN - 0039-3681
VL - 105
SP - 149
EP - 157
JO - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
JF - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
ER -