Scientific Discoveries as Growth of Understanding: The Case of Newton’s Gravitation

1. Our understanding of the nature of scientific discovery is undergoing a revolution. It is one which would replace knowledge and search for truth as the key explanatory concepts by those of understanding and problem–solving. Accordingly, scientific discovery would first be analyzed into the three distinct but interrelated elements of change, progress, and rationality,1 and then scientific progress would be conceived as growth of understanding and not merely growth of knowledge, scientific rationality as thought and action which effectively bring about progress so conceived, and scientific change as the development of those institutions and those individuals whereby scientific rationality has been actualized in the course of history. In this scheme, the fundamental role would be played by the theory of scientific progress as growth of understanding.