Is observation mathematically-laden?
In this article, we will defend an epistemological claim: that observation is mathematically-laden. A well-known thesis in the philosophy of science is that observation is theory-laden. The claim that observation is mathematically laden can be partially seen as an analogous argument. The first pa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
2013-04-01
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| Series: | Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology |
| Online Access: | https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/principia/article/view/27101 |
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| author | Thomas Mueller |
| author_facet | Thomas Mueller |
| author_sort | Thomas Mueller |
| collection | DOAJ |
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In this article, we will defend an epistemological claim: that observation is mathematically-laden. A well-known thesis in the philosophy of science is that observation is theory-laden. The claim that observation is mathematically laden can be partially seen as an analogous argument.
The first part of the paper focuses on the definition of mathematically-ladeness and its relations to the best-known problem of theory-ladeness.
The second part of the paper presents some explicit examples and outlines the consequences and the difficulties of this epistemological limit.
Finally a specific context for this problem is discussed in details: we will analyze the question of deterministic chaos as a paradigmatic example of mathematically-ladeness and shows that the deterministic or indeterministic nature of chaos is strongly linked to the choice of a particular mathematical description.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-45b5f4b87e1d416dbdb3eed96b09281e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1808-1711 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2013-04-01 |
| publisher | Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology |
| spelling | doaj-art-45b5f4b87e1d416dbdb3eed96b09281e2025-08-20T02:09:59ZengUniversidade Federal de Santa CatarinaPrincipia: An International Journal of Epistemology1808-17112013-04-0117110.5007/1808-1711.2013v17n1p16520707Is observation mathematically-laden?Thomas Mueller0Université de Lausanne In this article, we will defend an epistemological claim: that observation is mathematically-laden. A well-known thesis in the philosophy of science is that observation is theory-laden. The claim that observation is mathematically laden can be partially seen as an analogous argument. The first part of the paper focuses on the definition of mathematically-ladeness and its relations to the best-known problem of theory-ladeness. The second part of the paper presents some explicit examples and outlines the consequences and the difficulties of this epistemological limit. Finally a specific context for this problem is discussed in details: we will analyze the question of deterministic chaos as a paradigmatic example of mathematically-ladeness and shows that the deterministic or indeterministic nature of chaos is strongly linked to the choice of a particular mathematical description. https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/principia/article/view/27101 |
| spellingShingle | Thomas Mueller Is observation mathematically-laden? Principia: An International Journal of Epistemology |
| title | Is observation mathematically-laden? |
| title_full | Is observation mathematically-laden? |
| title_fullStr | Is observation mathematically-laden? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is observation mathematically-laden? |
| title_short | Is observation mathematically-laden? |
| title_sort | is observation mathematically laden |
| url | https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/principia/article/view/27101 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT thomasmueller isobservationmathematicallyladen |