Intellectual inflation: one way for scientific research to degenerate

IF 1.4 2区 哲学 Q1 HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE
Javier Anta
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze a specific way in which a scientific programme or area can, in Lakatosian terms, degenerate: namely, through a developmental process of intellectual inflation. Adopting a pluralist approach to the notion of scientific progress, we propose that the historical development of a particular scientific area can be analyzed as being intellectually inflationary during a bounded period of time if it has considerably increased its productive output (thus demonstrating productive progressive) while the overall semantic or epistemic value of those products have not improved in a significant fashion (thus lacking progress in a semantic or epistemic sense). Then, we apply this concept to thoroughly assess whether there have been some intellectually inflationary patterns in the development of (i) information-theoretical evolutionary biology in 1961–2023, and (ii) ensemblist non-equilibrium statistical mechanics in 1938–2023. And finally, we argue that tracking and analyzing intellectually inflationary patterns in the history of sciences might contribute to vindicate a non-productivist picture of current scientific research.
智力膨胀:科学研究退化的一种方式。
本文旨在分析一种特定的方式,在这种方式中,一个科学项目或领域可以,在拉卡托斯术语中,退化:即通过智力膨胀的发展过程。对科学进步的概念采用多元主义的方法,我们提出,如果一个特定科学领域的历史发展在一定的时间内显著增加了其生产产出(从而显示出生产进步),而这些产品的整体语义或认知价值却没有显著改善(因此缺乏语义或认知意义上的进步),那么它可以被分析为智力膨胀。然后,我们应用这一概念来全面评估在(i) 1961-2023年的信息论进化生物学和(ii) 1938-2023年的系综非平衡统计力学的发展中是否存在一些智力膨胀模式。最后,我们认为,追踪和分析科学史上的智力膨胀模式,可能有助于证明当前科学研究的非生产主义图景是正确的。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 管理科学-科学史与科学哲学
CiteScore
2.50
自引率
10.00%
发文量
166
审稿时长
6.6 weeks
期刊介绍: Studies in History and Philosophy of Science is devoted to the integrated study of the history, philosophy and sociology of the sciences. The editors encourage contributions both in the long-established areas of the history of the sciences and the philosophy of the sciences and in the topical areas of historiography of the sciences, the sciences in relation to gender, culture and society and the sciences in relation to arts. The Journal is international in scope and content and publishes papers from a wide range of countries and cultural traditions.
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