1. Philip Kitcher Successful Science

2. What’s Going On? (Outline) n Naïve falsification is not adequate in proving “good science” n Example:Newtonian Celestial Mechanics n Good Science –Auxiliary Hypotheses are Independently Testable –Unified –Fertile n Bad Science

3. Good Science An Example

4. Newtonian Celestial Mechanics n Solar system is subject to gravitational interactions only n Laws of motion are used to calculate the orbits of the known planets with great success.

5. Except For...

6. Uranus n The orbit of Uranus could not be calculated using Newton’s Theory n Naïve falsificationists may recommend that Newtonian mechanics be dismissed

7. TO SAVE NEWTON’S THEORY Alternative Hypothesis n John Adams and Urbain Leverrier independently propose an Alternative Hypothesis n “An unknown planet is affecting the orbit of Uranus” n So, calculations are made. Astronomers are notified.

9. Morals of the story Auxiliary hypotheses are ok Good theories are unified Incompleteness fosters fecundity

10. Auxiliary Hypotheses n Auxiliary hypotheses (other forces are acting on Uranus) must be used responsibly n Should be independently testable –Independent of the problem –Independent of the theory n May be used when the theory has been successful in the past

11. Good Theories are Unified n Unified problem solving strategies –Newton’s laws work for solving any problems of motion. The motion of planets, projectiles, pendulums etc. –No matter what problem needs to be answered the same format is followed: Find forces acting; use forces and laws of dynamics to work out equations of motion; solve equations of motion –Bad theories need many untestable auxiliary hypotheses to answer questions

12. Good Theories are Unified n Great Unity –Newton hoped his work would lead others to find “a truer philosophy” which would answer questions of heat, optics, electricity, magnetism etc. –This “Grand Equation” has yet to be discovered

13. Good Science Displays Fecundity n Scientific discovery will raise more questions and lead to more discovery –Newton’s theories lead to the development of whole new sciences and the discovery of a new planet n Incompleteness is not a vice –Flourishing science is incomplete –“Incompleteness is the mother of fecundity”

14. Summary n Good Science –Independently testable, unified, productive n Bad Science –Untestable, needs many alternative hypotheses, unrelated strategies, questions lead to dead ends, problems dismissed as “exceptions” n Any of the above? Not Science at all!

15. Evolutionists vs. Creationists n Predictive Success –Good, but not the only test of science –Predictions only answer “what” questions not “why” –Science seeks to explain phenomena n Science Requires Proof –No! Theories are in a process of development, nothing is ever proven