Abstract

Throughout science and mathematics, expert inquirers often reformulate existing problem-solving procedures and theories. But what value is there to reformulating, particularly when one already knows how to solve a given problem? Is reformulating merely instrumentally valuable for other practical or epistemic aims, or does it constitute a distinctive kind of epistemic achievement? I argue that by changing what we need to know to solve a problem, significant reformulations constitute a kind of intellectual value. Whereas some reformulations are trivial notational variants, a significant reformulation provides an inferentially distinct problem-solving plan. I situate my preferred position as a middle ground between deflationary and metaphysically-substantial alternatives.