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30Empirical progress and nomic truth approximation revisitedStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 46 64-72. 2012.
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27Empirical Progress and Truth Approximation by the ‘Hypothetico-Probabilistic Method’Erkenntnis 70 (3): 313-330. 2009.Three related intuitions are explicated in this paper. The first is the idea that there must be some kind of probabilistic version of the HD-method, a 'Hypothetico-Probabilistic method', in terms of something like probabilistic consequences, instead of deductive consequences. According to the second intuition, the comparative application of this method should also be functional for some probabilistic kind of empirical progress, and according to the third intuition this should be functional for s…Read more
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Handbook of the Philosophy of Science. General Philosophy of Science--Focal Issues (edited book)Elsevier: Amsterdam. 2007.
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2Explication in Philosophy of ScienceIn Handbook of the Philosophy of Science. General Philosophy of Science--Focal Issues, Elsevier: Amsterdam. 2007.
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50Models, postulates, and generalized nomic truth approximationSynthese 193 (10). 2016.The qualitative theory of nomic truth approximation, presented in Kuipers in his, in which ‘the truth’ concerns the distinction between nomic, e.g. physical, possibilities and impossibilities, rests on a very restrictive assumption, viz. that theories always claim to characterize the boundary between nomic possibilities and impossibilities. Fully recognizing two different functions of theories, viz. excluding and representing, this paper drops this assumption by conceiving theories in developmen…Read more
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28Empirical progress and nomic truth approximation revisitedStudies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 46 64-72. 2014.In my From Instrumentalism to Constructive Realism I have shown how an instrumentalist account of empirical progress can be related to nomic truth approximation. However, it was assumed that a strong notion of nomic theories was needed for that analysis. In this paper it is shown, in terms of truth and falsity content, that the analysis already applies when, in line with scientific common sense, nomic theories are merely assumed to exclude certain conceptual possibilities as nomic possibilities
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Cognitive patterns in the empirical sciences: Examples of cognitive studies of science, to appear inCommunication and Cognition: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly Journal. forthcoming.
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23Explanation by intentional, functional, and causal specificationPoznan Studies in the Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities 47 209-236. 1996.
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6A survey of inductive systemsIn Richard C. Jeffrey (ed.), Studies in Inductive Logic and Probability, University of California Press. pp. 183-192. 1980.
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Inference to the Best Theory. Kinds of Induction and Abduction, Rather Than Inference to the Best ExplanationIn Friedrich Stadler (ed.), Induction and Deduction in the Sciences, Springer. pp. 25--51. 2004.
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43Inference to the best theory, rather than inference to the best explanation. Kinds of abduction and inductionIn Friedrich Stadler (ed.), Vienna Circle Institute Yearbook, Springer. pp. 25-51. 2004.An interesting consequence of the structuralist theory of truth approximation, as developed in my From Instrumentalism to Constructive Realism , henceforth ICR, concerns so-called ‘inference to the best explanation’ . It will be argued that this popular rule among scientific realists can better be replaced by, various kinds of, ‘inference to the best theory’
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Falsificationisme versus efficiënte waarheidsbenadering of de Ironie Van de List der RedeAlgemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte 86 (4): 270-290. 1994.
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Kan schoonheid de weg wijzen naar de waarheid?Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte 91 (3): 174-193. 1999.
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49Stratification of general equilibrium theory: A synthesis of reconstructions (review)Erkenntnis 30 (1-2). 1989.
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26Comparatief realisme: het beste antwoord op anti-realismeAlgemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte 100 (3): 173-200. 2008.
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Comparatief versus dichotoom realismeAlgemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte 100 (3). 2008.
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64Introduction and OverviewErkenntnis 75 (2): 151-163. 2011.Introduction and Overview Content Type Journal Article Category Introduction Pages 151-163 DOI 10.1007/s10670-011-9288-9 Authors Theo Kuipers, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands Gerhard Schurz, Department of Philosophy, University of Duesseldorf, Universitaetsstrasse 1, Geb. 23.21, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany Journal Erkenntnis Online ISSN 1572-8420 Print ISSN 0165-0106 Journal Volume Volume 75 Journal Issue Volume 75, Number 2
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21Inductive Analogy in Carnapian SpiritPSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1984. 1984.In this paper it is shown that there is a natural way of dealing with analogy by similarity in inductive systems by extending intuitive ways of introduction of systems without analogy. This procedure leads to Carnap-like systems, with zero probability for contingent generalizations, satisfying a general principle of so-called virtual analogy. This new principle is different from, but compatible with, Carnap's principle. It will be shown that the latter principle is satisfied, and should only be …Read more
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84Basic and Refined Nomic Truth Approximation by Evidence-Guided Belief Revision in AGM-TermsErkenntnis 75 (2): 223-236. 2011.Straightforward theory revision, taking into account as effectively as possible the established nomic possibilities and, on their basis induced empirical laws, is conducive for (unstratified) nomic truth approximation. The question this paper asks is: is it possible to reconstruct the relevant theory revision steps, on the basis of incoming evidence, in AGM-terms? A positive answer will be given in two rounds, first for the case in which the initial theory is compatible with the established empi…Read more
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50Epistemological Positions in the Light of Truth ApproximationThe Proceedings of the Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy 10 79-88. 2001.I sketch the most important epistemological positions in the instrumentalism-realism debate, viz., instrumentalism, constructive empiricism, referential realism, and theory realism. I order them according to their answers to a number of successive leading questions, where every next question presupposes an affirmative answer to the foregoing one. I include the answer to questions concerning truth, as well as the most plausible answer to questions concerning truth approximation. Restricting my su…Read more
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45Truth approximation by concretization in capital structure theoryIn Bert Hamminga & Neil De Marchi (eds.), Idealization Vi: Idealization in Economics, Rodopi. pp. 205--228. 1994.This paper supplies a structuralist reconstruction of the Modigliani-Miller theory and shows that the economic literature following their results reports on research with an implicit strategy to come "closer-to-the-truth" in the modern technical sense in philosophy of science
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33The structuralist theory of truth approximation essen-tially deals with truth approximation by theory revision for a fixed domain. However, variable domains can also be taken into account, where the main changes concern domain extensions and restrictions. In this paper I will present a coherent set of definitions of “more truth-likeness”, “empirical progress” and “truth approximation” due to a revision of the domain of intended applications. This set of definitions seems to be the natural counte…Read more