Understanding Scientific Theories: An Assessment of Developments, 1969–1998
- 1 January 2000
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Philosophy of Science
- Vol. 67 (S3), S102-S115
- https://doi.org/10.1086/392812
Abstract
The positivistic Received View construed scientific theories syntactically as axiomatic calculi where theoretical terms were given a partial semantic interpretation via correspondence rules connecting them to observation statements. This paper assesses what, with hindsight, seem the most important defects in the Received View; surveys the main proposed successor analyses to the Received View—various Semantic Conception versions and the Structuralist Analysis; evaluates how well they avoid those defects; examines what new problems they face and where the most promising require further development or leave unanswered questions; explores implications of recent work on models for understanding theories; and rebuts the few criticisms of the Semantic Conception that have surfaced.Keywords
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