Abstract
One of the more curious aspects of most recent theories of scientific change is that their proponents have left unexplained how scientific change can occur at all. For change implies the existence of alternatives, and neither Kuhn (1962) nor Lakatos (1970) has specified the circumstances under which it is rational to attempt to develop alternatives to a prevailing paradigm or research programme. Indeed, the methodologies of these philosophers provide no rationale for any scientist to explore and develop a new scientific ‘maxi-theory’. Feyerabend (1975) has attempted to redress the methodological conservatism inherent in Kuhn and Lakatos, but his own arguments for ‘theoretical pluralism’ remain unconvincing. Thus the ‘logic of discovery’ of new maxi-theories remains one of the most neglected parts of contemporary theories of scientific change.
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Laudan, R. (1980). The Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses and the Development of Plate Tectonic Theory. In: Nickles, T. (eds) Scientific Discovery: Case Studies. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol 60. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-9015-9_17
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