Gattei, Stefano Why and to What Extent May a False Hypothesis Yield the Truth. In: Zuzana Parusnikova, Robert S. Cohen (eds.), Rethinking Popper. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 272 . Springer, New York, pp. 47-61. ISBN 9781402093371 (2009)
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Some of Kepler's works seem very different in character. His youthful Mysterium cosmographicum (1596) argues for heliocentrism on the basis of metaphysical, astronomical, astrological, numerological and architectonic principles. By contrast, Astronomia nova (1609) is far more tightly argued on the basis of only a few dynamical principles. In the eyes of many, such a contrast embodies a transition from Renaissance to early modern science. I suggest that Karl Popper's fallibilist and piecemeal approach, and especially his theory of errors, might prove extremely helpful in resolving such alleged tension. By abandoning the perspective of the inductivist philosophy of science, which is forced by its own standards to portray Kepler as a "sleepwalker", I focus on the method he followed: he never hesitated to discuss his own intellectual journey, offering a rational reconstruction of the series of false starts, blind alleys and failures he encountered. The critical dialogue he managed to establish in private correspondence with fellow astronomers he later transplanted into his printed works, whose structure closely resembles that of a dialogue, however implicit.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General) |
| Research Area: | Economics and Institutional Change |
| Depositing User: | Stefano Gattei |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Feb 2011 10:30 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Jul 2011 14:24 |
| URI: | http://eprints.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/62 |
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