Mechanism of Method Rejection

How do methods become rejected? What is the mechanism of method rejection?

The process of method rejection is an integral part of method dynamics. As some methods become employed by epistemic agents, other methods cease to be employed. Thus, it is important to unearth the underlying dynamics of method rejection, i.e. the mechanism that leads epistemic agents to reject their employed methods.

In the scientonomic context, this question was first formulated by Hakob Barseghyan in 2016. The question is currently accepted as a legitimate topic for discussion by Scientonomy community.

In Scientonomy, the accepted answers to the question can be summarized as follows:

• A method becomes rejected only when some of the theories, from which it follows, also become rejected.
• A norm becomes rejected when other elements that are incompatible with the norm become part of the mosaic.

Scientonomic History

Acceptance Record of the Question

Here is the complete acceptance record of this question (it includes all the instances when the question was accepted as a legitimate topic for discussion by a community):

Community	Accepted From	Acceptance Indicators	Still Accepted	Accepted Until	Rejection Indicators
Scientonomy	1 January 2016	The is when the community accepted its first answer to the question, Method Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-2015), which indicates that the question is itself legitimate.	Yes

All Direct Answers

The following direct answers to the question have been suggested:

Theory	Formulation	Formulated In
Method Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-2015)	A method ceases to be employed only when other methods that are incompatible with the method become employed.	2015

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Accepted Direct Answers

The following theories have been accepted as direct answers to this question:

Community	Theory	Formulation	Accepted From	Accepted Until
Scientonomy	Method Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-2015)	A method ceases to be employed only when other methods that are incompatible with the method become employed.	1 January 2016	22 February 2024

Suggested Modifications

There have been no suggested modifications concerning direct answers to this question.

Current View

In Scientonomy, the accepted answers to the question are Synchronism of Method Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-2015) and Norm Rejection theorem (Pandey-2023).

Mechanism of Normative Theory Rejection

Norm Rejection theorem (Pandey-2023) states: "A norm becomes rejected when other elements that are incompatible with the norm become part of the mosaic."

The previous scientonomic account of transitions from the stance of employment to that of unemployment applied exclusively to methods. With Rawleigh's suggestion to expand the third law from applying to methods only to norms of all types, it became important to also have a theorem describing how norms of all types become rejected. Pandey's formulation fills this gap and stipulates that norms become unemployed when they are incompatible with other elements that enter into the mosaic.

Synchronism vs. Asynchronism of Method Rejection

Synchronism of Method Rejection theorem (Barseghyan-2015) states: "A method becomes rejected only when some of the theories, from which it follows, also become rejected."

The principle of this theorem is first introduced in Barseghyan (2015). We recall that "there are two somewhat distinct scenarios of method employment. In the first scenario, a method becomes employed when it strictly follows from newly accepted theories. In the second scenario, a method becomes employed when it implements the abstract requirements of some other employed method by means of other accepted theories. It can be shown that method rejection is only possible in the first scenario; no method can be rejected in the second scenario. Namely, it can be shown that method rejection can only take place when some other method becomes employed by strictly following from a new accepted theory; the employment of a method that is not a result of the acceptance of a new theory and is merely a new implementation of some already employed method cannot possibly lead to a method rejection."1p. 174

As per Barseghyan, it is important to note that "two implementations of the same method are not mutually exclusive and the employment of one doesn’t lead to the rejection of the other".1p. 176 Barseghyan illustrates this nicely with the example of cell-counting methods (see below). Furthermore, he writes, "an employment of a new concrete method cannot possibly lead to a rejection of any other employed method. Indeed, if we take into account the fact that a new concrete method follows deductively from the conjunction of an abstract method and other accepted theories, it will become obvious that this new concrete method cannot possibly be incompatible with any other element of the mosaic. We know from the zeroth law that at any stage the elements of the mosaic are compatible with each other. Therefore, no logical consequence of the mosaic can possibly be incompatible with other elements of the mosaic. But the new method that implemented the abstract method is just one such logical consequence".1p. 176-7

According to the synchronism of method rejection theorem, a method becomes rejected only when some of the theories from which it follows become rejected. By the method rejection theorem, a method is rejected when other methods incompatible with it become employed. By the Third Law, this can happen only when some of the theories from which it follows are also rejected.1p. 177-183

Related Topics

This question is a subquestion of Mechanism of Normative Theory Rejection. It has the following sub-topic(s):

• Synchronism vs. Asynchronism of Method Rejection

This topic is also related to the following topic(s):

• Norm Employment