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On Thought Experiments: Is There More to the Argument?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

John D. Norton
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Abstract

Thought experiments in science are merely picturesque argumentation. I support this view in various ways, including the claim that it follows from the fact that thought experiments can err but can still be used reliably. The view is defended against alternatives proposed by my cosymposiasts.

Type
The Epistemology of thought Experiments
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 71 , Issue 5: Proceedings of the 2002 Biennial Meeting of The Philosophy of Science Association. Part II: Symposia Papers , December 2004 , pp. 1139 - 1151
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 by the Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

‡

My thanks to my cosymposiasts, Tamar Gendler, James McAllister, and especially Jim Brown for years of stimulating discussion.

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