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History and philosophy of science as an interdisciplinary field of problem transfers

Thorén, Henrik LU (2015) In Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics 21. p.147-159
Abstract

The extensive discussions of the relationship between the history of science and the philosophy of science in the mid-20th century provide a long history of grappling with the relevance of empirical research on the practices of science to the philosophical analysis of science. Further, those discussions also touched upon the issue of importing empirical methods into the philosophy of science through the creation of an interdisciplinary field, namely, the history and philosophy of science. In this paper we return to Giere (1973) and his claim that history of science as a discipline cannot contribute to philosophy of science by providing, partial or whole, solutions to philosophical problems. Does this imply that there can be no genuine... (More)

The extensive discussions of the relationship between the history of science and the philosophy of science in the mid-20th century provide a long history of grappling with the relevance of empirical research on the practices of science to the philosophical analysis of science. Further, those discussions also touched upon the issue of importing empirical methods into the philosophy of science through the creation of an interdisciplinary field, namely, the history and philosophy of science. In this paper we return to Giere (1973) and his claim that history of science as a discipline cannot contribute to philosophy of science by providing, partial or whole, solutions to philosophical problems. Does this imply that there can be no genuine interdisciplinarity between the two disciplines? In answering this question it is first suggested that connections between disciplines can be formed around the transfer and sharing of problems (as well as solutions); and that this is a viable alternative for how to understand the relationship between history and philosophy of science. Next we argue that this alternative is sufficient for establishing a genuine form of interdisciplinarity between them. An example is presented—Darden’s (1991) book on theory change—that shows how philosophy of science can rely on history of science in this way.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
History and philosophy of science, Interdisciplinarity, Problem feeding, Problem transfer
host publication
Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics
series title
Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics
editor
Wagenknecht, Susann ; Nersessian, Nancy J. and Andersen, Hanne
volume
21
pages
13 pages
publisher
Springer International Publishing
external identifiers
  • scopus:85019733714
ISSN
21926255
21926263
ISBN
978-3-319-18599-6
978-3-319-18600-9
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-18600-9_8
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
843d47c3-f847-4e27-83f7-3b0a00855172
date added to LUP
2017-06-09 10:45:41
date last changed
2024-09-16 03:00:42
@inbook{843d47c3-f847-4e27-83f7-3b0a00855172,
  abstract     = {{<p>The extensive discussions of the relationship between the history of science and the philosophy of science in the mid-20th century provide a long history of grappling with the relevance of empirical research on the practices of science to the philosophical analysis of science. Further, those discussions also touched upon the issue of importing empirical methods into the philosophy of science through the creation of an interdisciplinary field, namely, the history and philosophy of science. In this paper we return to Giere (1973) and his claim that history of science as a discipline cannot contribute to philosophy of science by providing, partial or whole, solutions to philosophical problems. Does this imply that there can be no genuine interdisciplinarity between the two disciplines? In answering this question it is first suggested that connections between disciplines can be formed around the transfer and sharing of problems (as well as solutions); and that this is a viable alternative for how to understand the relationship between history and philosophy of science. Next we argue that this alternative is sufficient for establishing a genuine form of interdisciplinarity between them. An example is presented—Darden’s (1991) book on theory change—that shows how philosophy of science can rely on history of science in this way.</p>}},
  author       = {{Thorén, Henrik}},
  booktitle    = {{Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics}},
  editor       = {{Wagenknecht, Susann and Nersessian, Nancy J. and Andersen, Hanne}},
  isbn         = {{978-3-319-18599-6}},
  issn         = {{21926255}},
  keywords     = {{History and philosophy of science; Interdisciplinarity; Problem feeding; Problem transfer}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{147--159}},
  publisher    = {{Springer International Publishing}},
  series       = {{Studies in Applied Philosophy, Epistemology and Rational Ethics}},
  title        = {{History and philosophy of science as an interdisciplinary field of problem transfers}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18600-9_8}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/978-3-319-18600-9_8}},
  volume       = {{21}},
  year         = {{2015}},
}