Phenomena and patterns in data sets

Erkenntnis 47 (2):217-228 (1997)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

Bogen and Woodward claim that the function of scientific theories is to account for 'phenomena', which they describe both as investigator-independent constituents of the world and as corresponding to patterns in data sets. I argue that, if phenomena are considered to correspond to patterns in data, it is inadmissible to regard them as investigator-independent entities. Bogen and Woodward's account of phenomena is thus incoherent. I offer an alternative account, according to which phenomena are investigator-relative entities. All the infinitely many patterns that data sets exhibit have equal intrinsic claim to the status of phenomenon: each investigator may stipulate which patterns correspond to phenomena for him or her. My notion of phenomena accords better both with experimental practice and with the historical development of science.

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive

    This entry is not archived by us. If you are the author and have permission from the publisher, we recommend that you archive it. Many publishers automatically grant permission to authors to archive pre-prints. By uploading a copy of your work, you will enable us to better index it, making it easier to find.

    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 106,126

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-01-28

Downloads
167 (#147,737)

6 months
5 (#853,286)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

James McAllister
Leiden University

Citations of this work

What’s so special about model organisms?Rachel A. Ankeny & Sabina Leonelli - 2011 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 42 (2):313-323.
What Is a Replication?Edouard Machery - 2020 - Philosophy of Science 87 (4):545-567.
Models and representation.Roman Frigg & James Nguyen - 2017 - In Lorenzo Magnani & Tommaso Bertolotti, Springer Handbook of Model-Based Science. Springer. pp. 49-102.

View all 60 citations / Add more citations

References found in this work

Saving the phenomena.James Bogen & James Woodward - 1988 - Philosophical Review 97 (3):303-352.
Data and phenomena.James Woodward - 1989 - Synthese 79 (3):393 - 472.
Smoke and Mirrors: How Science Reflects Reality.James Robert Brown - 1994 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 45 (4):1059-1062.

Add more references