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Philosophers Adrift? Comments on the Alleged Disunity of Method

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Matthias Kaiser
Matthias Kaiser*
Affiliation:
The National Committee for Research Ethics in Science and Technology, Norway
*
‡Send reprint requests to the author, The National Committee for Research Ethics in Science and Technology, Gaustadalléen 21, The Research Park, N-0371 Oslo 3, Norway.
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Abstract

R. Laudan and L. Laudan (1989) have put forth a new model intended to solve the problem of disagreement, the problem of consensus, and the problem of innovation in science. In support of this model they cite the history of the acceptance of continental drift, or plate tectonics. In this discussion, I claim that this episode does not constitute an instance of their model. The historical evidence does not support this model. Indeed, closer examination seems to weaken it. I also sketch an alternative model.

Information

Type
Discussion
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 60 , Issue 3 , September 1993 , pp. 500 - 512
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1993

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Footnotes

†

I want to thank Robert Marc Friedman, Reidar Lie, and Nils Roll-Hansen for helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.

References

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