Kant's theory of scientific hypotheses in its historical context
- Author
- Boris Demarest (UGent) and Hein van den Berg
- Organization
- Abstract
- This paper analyzes the historical context and systematic importance of Kant's hypothetical use of reason. It does so by investigating the role of hypotheses in Kant's philosophy of science. We first situate Kant's account of hypotheses in the context of eighteenth-century German philosophy of science, focusing on the works of Wolff, Meier, and Crusius. We contrast different conceptions of hypotheses of these authors and elucidate the different theories of probability informing them. We then adopt a more systematic perspective to discuss Kant's idea that scientific hypotheses must articulate real possibilities. We argue that Kant's views on the intelligibility of scientific hypotheses constitute a valuable perspective on scientific understanding and the constraints it imposes on scientific rationality.
- Keywords
- History and Philosophy of Science, Hypotheses, Eighteenth-century philosophy of science, Probability, Scientific understanding, History of Philosophy of Science, PHILOSOPHY, SCIENCE
Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01GZKGWCYCW1BBJ31KXHBRDRJA
- MLA
- Demarest, Boris, and Hein van den Berg. “Kant’s Theory of Scientific Hypotheses in Its Historical Context.” STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE, vol. 92, 2022, pp. 12–19, doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.01.011.
- APA
- Demarest, B., & van den Berg, H. (2022). Kant’s theory of scientific hypotheses in its historical context. STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE, 92, 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.01.011
- Chicago author-date
- Demarest, Boris, and Hein van den Berg. 2022. “Kant’s Theory of Scientific Hypotheses in Its Historical Context.” STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 92: 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.01.011.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Demarest, Boris, and Hein van den Berg. 2022. “Kant’s Theory of Scientific Hypotheses in Its Historical Context.” STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE 92: 12–19. doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.01.011.
- Vancouver
- 1.Demarest B, van den Berg H. Kant’s theory of scientific hypotheses in its historical context. STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE. 2022;92:12–9.
- IEEE
- [1]B. Demarest and H. van den Berg, “Kant’s theory of scientific hypotheses in its historical context,” STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE, vol. 92, pp. 12–19, 2022.
@article{01GZKGWCYCW1BBJ31KXHBRDRJA,
abstract = {{This paper analyzes the historical context and systematic importance of Kant's hypothetical use of reason. It does
so by investigating the role of hypotheses in Kant's philosophy of science. We first situate Kant's account of hypotheses
in the context of eighteenth-century German philosophy of science, focusing on the works of Wolff,
Meier, and Crusius. We contrast different conceptions of hypotheses of these authors and elucidate the different
theories of probability informing them. We then adopt a more systematic perspective to discuss Kant's idea that
scientific hypotheses must articulate real possibilities. We argue that Kant's views on the intelligibility of scientific
hypotheses constitute a valuable perspective on scientific understanding and the constraints it imposes on scientific
rationality.}},
author = {{Demarest, Boris and van den Berg, Hein}},
issn = {{0039-3681}},
journal = {{STUDIES IN HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE}},
keywords = {{History and Philosophy of Science,Hypotheses,Eighteenth-century philosophy of science,Probability,Scientific understanding,History of Philosophy of Science,PHILOSOPHY,SCIENCE}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{12--19}},
title = {{Kant's theory of scientific hypotheses in its historical context}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2022.01.011}},
volume = {{92}},
year = {{2022}},
}
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