D Coda
This chapter addressed objections to the program of Conjectures and Refutations, espoused in slightly different ways by Popper and Platt. Several objections dealt with questions about falsification—chiefly, about its significance and conclusiveness.
We reviewed the distinct functions that falsification has in the methods and contents of science. Popper uses the concept of corroboration to refer to tested-and-not-falsified hypotheses, and we examined the differences between corroboration and confirmation (or verification) in the contexts of basic science and applied science. Corroboration is important primarily in applied science as it provides the basis for action that distinguishes Popper's philosophy from other philosophies of science. Despite the accusations of his critics, Popper is not an inductivist, and his philosophy does not assume or rely on induction. We saw that scientists deal pragmatically with the logical complexities of the Duhem-Quine Thesis that posits that the intricacies of holism, the interlocking nature of scientific hypothesis in a network, precludes the testing of any one hypothesis in isolation. Science manages to progress by doing control experiments and taking other measures to isolate and test individual hypotheses. Finally, we considered “negative data” as related to hypothesis testing and falsification, and we evaluated a few technical concerns that philosophers have raised about Conjectures and Refutations. The chapter concludes that, despite occasional shortcomings, the hypothesis-testing programs of Popper and Platt remain viable.The material in Chapters 1-3 defines the modern scientific hypothesis that forms the foundation for the rest of the book. The next chapter picks up a theme that appeared at the end of this chapter: that is, that there are different “kinds” of science and that a major distinction involves the extent to which the different kinds depend on the scientific hypothesis.
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