Why the Sun Shines: Coherence and Models in Scientific Description

Abstract

As one concrete example of scientific knowledge and how it develops, a review will here be given of the development of the astronomical insight into the internal constitution of the stars. The choice of this field as illustration in the present context is justified in three different ways. First by the significance of the matter of concern. In its most primitive formulation this matter is, what is the Sun and why does it shine? Surely a question of great significance to any human being who has any curiosity about the world. Second, the present field demonstrates as well as any the importance of coherence in scientific knowledge. As a matter of fact, the development of the insight into the internal constitution of the stars has proceeded in intimate contact with the development in several other fields that superficially seem to have little in common, such as atomic physics and geology. Third, the study of the interior of the stars demonstrates vividly the use of constructed models in describing aspects of the world.