The Aesthetics of Theory Selection and the Logics of Art
Philosophy of Science (2):325-343 (2018)
Abstract
Philosophers of science discuss whether theory selection depends on aesthetic judgments or criteria,
and whether these putatively aesthetic features are genuinely extra-epistemic. As examples,
judgments involving criteria such as simplicity and symmetry are often cited. However, other theory
selection criteria, such as fecundity, coherence, internal consistency, and fertility, more closely match
those criteria used in art contexts and by scholars working in aesthetics. Paying closer attention to
the way these criteria are used in art contexts allows us to understand some evaluative and
developmental practices in scientific theory selection as genuinely aesthetic, enlarging the scope of
the goals of science.
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Archival date: 2018-06-24
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2018-06-07
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247 ( #21,178 of 55,847 )
Recent downloads (6 months)
41 ( #18,981 of 55,847 )
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