Necessary Methods
Are there methods that are necessarily part of any mosaic? What methods, if any, are necessary for the process of scientific change to occur?
Elements of a scientific mosaic change through time and it is conceivable that for such a change to take place a mosaic should necessarily contain certain methods. Thus, the question is whether there are any methods that are a prerequisite for scientific change, i.e. methods without which no change in a mosaic is possible.1pp. 226-233
In the scientonomic context, this question was first formulated by Hakob Barseghyan in 2015. The question is currently accepted as a legitimate topic for discussion by Scientonomy community.
In Scientonomy, the accepted answer to the question is:
- In order for the process of scientific change to be possible, the mosaic must necessarily contain at least one employed method.
Contents
Scientonomic History
Acceptance Record
Community | Accepted From | Acceptance Indicators | Still Accepted | Accepted Until | Rejection Indicators |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scientonomy | 1 January 2016 | This is when the community accepted its first answer to the question, Necessary Method theorem (Barseghyan-2015), which indicates the question is itself legitimate. | Yes |
All Theories
Theory | Formulation | Formulated In |
---|---|---|
Necessary Method theorem (Barseghyan-2015) | In order for the process of scientific change to be possible, the mosaic must necessarily contain at least one employed method. | 2015 |
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Accepted Theories
Community | Theory | Accepted From | Accepted Until |
---|---|---|---|
Scientonomy | Necessary Method theorem (Barseghyan-2015) | 1 January 2016 |
Suggested Modifications
Current View
In Scientonomy, the accepted answer to the question is Necessary Method theorem (Barseghyan-2015).
Necessary Method theorem (Barseghyan-2015) states: "In order for the process of scientific change to be possible, the mosaic must necessarily contain at least one employed method."
According to the non-empty mosaic theorem, there must be at least one element present in a mosaic. By the second law, a theory can only be accepted into a mosaic if there is a method the community can use to appraise the theory. By the third law, methods become employed when they are deductive consequences of accepted theories. Thus, in any mosaic, there must exist at least one method with which a community can appraise new theories.1pp. 228-233
To better illustrate this example, we can imagine a community with a set of accepted propositions.
Community φ accepts proposition α. For α to have become accepted, through the second law, we know that φ must have had implicit expectations which α satisfied. No matter what those expectations are, if the community had not harbored those expectations there could be no acceptance.
Similarly, if we have a community φ which experiences a change of expectations (i.e. a change of method), it is deductively true that φ already had a set of expectations which could be referred to as a method.
Related Topics
This question is a subquestion of Necessary Normative Theories.