Dellsén Finnur
Department of Philosophy, University of Iceland, Saemundargata 1, 101 Reykjavik, Iceland.
Stud Hist Philos Sci. 2016 Apr;56:72-83. doi: 10.1016/j.shpsa.2016.01.003. Epub 2016 Feb 4.
What is scientific progress? On Alexander Bird's epistemic account of scientific progress, an episode in science is progressive precisely when there is more scientific knowledge at the end of the episode than at the beginning. Using Bird's epistemic account as a foil, this paper develops an alternative understanding-based account on which an episode in science is progressive precisely when scientists grasp how to correctly explain or predict more aspects of the world at the end of the episode than at the beginning. This account is shown to be superior to the epistemic account by examining cases in which knowledge and understanding come apart. In these cases, it is argued that scientific progress matches increases in scientific understanding rather than accumulations of knowledge. In addition, considerations having to do with minimalist idealizations, pragmatic virtues, and epistemic value all favor this understanding-based account over its epistemic counterpart.
什么是科学进步？根据亚历山大·伯德对科学进步的认知解释，科学中的一个阶段是进步的，当且仅当在该阶段结束时比开始时有更多的科学知识。以伯德的认知解释为对照，本文提出了一种基于理解的替代解释，即科学中的一个阶段是进步的，当且仅当科学家在该阶段结束时比开始时能够更好地理解如何正确解释或预测世界的更多方面。通过考察知识与理解相分离的情况，表明这种解释优于认知解释。在这些情况下，有人认为科学进步与科学理解的增加相匹配，而不是知识的积累。此外，与极简理想化、实用美德和认知价值相关的考量都支持这种基于理解的解释，而不是其认知对应物。
