Changes

|Description=The theory of scientific change currently defines theories as sets of descriptive or normative propositions. This definition is most closely aligned with the syntactical view of theories promulgated by logical empiricists early in the twentieth century.[[CiteRef::Winther (2016)]] Two other competing views of the nature of scientific theories have since been proposed. The semantic view of theories holds that they should be seen as sets of models, as models were defined by [[Alfred Tarski]]. The pragmatic view rejects a purely formal characterization of theories and holds them to include sentences, models, problems, examples, skills, practices, analogies, and metaphors, some of which necessarily resist formalization.[[CiteRef::Winther (2016)]][[CiteRef::Mormann (2008)]] Is the theory of scientific change compatible with these more recent and broader views of theories?

|Prehistory=In modern times philosophers have held varied views about how best to express the structure and content of scientific theories and about whether or not they are wholly reducible to sets of propositions. [[CiteRef::Winther (2016)]] A For a more complete discussion may be found in the definitional topic, see [[Theory]].