Models of Theory-Change

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses models of theory-change. Science is essentially a learning device, and all models of the structure of science describe what essentially mechanisms of learning are. Almost without exception these models presuppose that the subject matter of learning is the empirical world, and that the world interacts with the learning device, whether that device is conceived as the individual scientist, the whole body of scientists, or the institution of science represented by its learned societies, journals, and textbooks. Almost without exception, models of science presuppose that the learning process returns to the empirical world that provides checks and reinforcements, and is the subject of prediction and control. In terms of the mechanisms of learning intervening between empirical input and predictive output, almost all models of science and epistemologies can be located. The chapter describes general type of learning machine in which this epistemological exercise can be carried out.