Skip to main content

Part of the book series: Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science ((BSPS,volume 111))

Abstract

Is there a logic of scientific discovery? An affirmative answer to this question is a thread which ran through all of Imre Lakatos’s writings. In this Lakatos swam against the tide of logical positivist and Popperian orthodoxy. According to that orthodoxy, the ‘context of discovery’ is the province of empirical psychology; it is only the ‘context of justification’ which is the province of logic. Moreover, psychological facts about the way in which a theory was discovered have no bearing upon the logical or epistemological question of whether it is a justified theory. Now Lakatos and his followers were not, of course, the first to swim against the tide of orthodoxy. But they were, I shall argue, the first to make much headway against it.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Dorling, J., ‘Einstein’s Introduction of Photons: Argument by Analogy or Deduction from the Phenomena?’, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 22 (1971) 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorling, J., ‘Henry Cavendish’s Deduction of the Electrostatic Inverse Square Law from the Result of a Single Experiment’, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 4 (1973a) 327–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorling, J., ‘Demonstrative Induction: Its Significant Role in the History of Physics’, Philosophy of Science, 40 (1973b) 360–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laudan, L., ‘Why was the logic of discovery abandoned?’, in Scientific Discovery, Logic and Rationality, T. Nickles (ed.), Reidel, Dordrecht, 1980, pp. 173–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin, R., ‘Invention and Appraisal’, in What? Where? When? Why?: Essays on Induction, Space and Time, and Explanation, R. McLaughlin (ed.) Reidel, Dordrecht, 1982, pp. 69–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Musgrave, A. E., ‘Logical versus Historical Theories of Confirmation’, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 25 (1974) 1–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musgrave, A. E., ‘Wittgensteinian Instrumentalism’, Theoria, 46 (1980) 65–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newton, I., Sir Isaac Newton’s Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy and his System of the World, Motte’s translation revised by Cajori, University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1934.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nickles, T., ‘Introductory Essay’, in Scientific Discovery, Logic and Rationality, T. Nickles (ed.) Reidel, Dordrecht, 1980, pp. 1–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peirce, C. S., The Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, ed. C. Hartshorne and P. Weiss, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass, 1931–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Popper, K. R., The Logic of Scientific Discovery, Hutchinson, London, 1959.

    Google Scholar 

  • Worrall, J., ‘Scientific Discovery and Theory-Confirmation’, in Change and Progress in Modern Science, J. C. Pitt (ed.) Reidel, Dordrecht, 1985, pp. 301–331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahar, E., ‘Why did Einstein’s Programme supersede Lorentz’s?’, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 24 (1973) 95–125 & 223–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zahar, E., ‘Logic of Discovery or Psychology of Invention?’, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 34 (1983) 243–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1989 Kluwer Academic Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Musgrave, A. (1989). Deductive Heuristics. In: Gavroglu, K., Goudaroulis, Y., Nicolacopoulos, P. (eds) Imre Lakatos and Theories of Scientific Change. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol 111. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3025-4_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3025-4_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7860-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3025-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics