dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaTheory assessment and reality in Boltzmann's epistemological thinking
| Authors | Marcelo Byrro Ribeiro, Antonio Augusto Passos Videira |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0701308 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0701308 |
| DOI | 10.1080/03080188.2022.2146272 |
| Journal | Interdisciplinary Sci. Rev. 48:1 (2023) 62-76 |
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Abstract
This paper discusses how theories can be assessed within the epistemological viewpoint advanced by the Austrian physicist Ludwig E. Boltzmann. It builds upon, and further develops, the perspective of Boltzmann's thinking as advanced by Ribeiro and Videira (1998, arXiv:physics/9806011). Boltzmann's epistemological viewpoint accepts that reality is real and proposes that reality can be described by different points of view because his main philosophical thesis states that scientific theories are images of Nature. We present the historical context that witnessed the genesis of Boltzmann's ideas and expand Ribeiro and Videira's (Ibid.) perspective by arguing that later in his life Boltzmann realized the insufficiency of his thesis as justification for theoretical pluralism and avoidance of dogmatism. Consequently, his thinking went beyond epistemology, the nature of scientific knowledge, to include realism, the nature of the represented objects.
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"abstract": "This paper discusses how theories can be assessed within the epistemological\nviewpoint advanced by the Austrian physicist Ludwig E. Boltzmann. It builds\nupon, and further develops, the perspective of Boltzmann\u0027s thinking as advanced\nby Ribeiro and Videira (1998, arXiv:physics/9806011). Boltzmann\u0027s\nepistemological viewpoint accepts that reality is real and proposes that\nreality can be described by different points of view because his main\nphilosophical thesis states that scientific theories are images of Nature. We\npresent the historical context that witnessed the genesis of Boltzmann\u0027s ideas\nand expand Ribeiro and Videira\u0027s (Ibid.) perspective by arguing that later in\nhis life Boltzmann realized the insufficiency of his thesis as justification\nfor theoretical pluralism and avoidance of dogmatism. Consequently, his\nthinking went beyond epistemology, the nature of scientific knowledge, to\ninclude realism, the nature of the represented objects.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0701308",
"authors": [
"Marcelo Byrro Ribeiro",
"Antonio Augusto Passos Videira"
],
"categories": [
"physics.hist-ph",
"gr-qc",
"physics.pop-ph",
"physics.soc-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1080/03080188.2022.2146272",
"journal_ref": "Interdisciplinary Sci. Rev. 48:1 (2023) 62-76",
"license": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"title": "Theory assessment and reality in Boltzmann\u0027s epistemological thinking",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0701308"
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