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[[Thomas Kuhn]]'s ''Structure of Scientific Revolutions'' (1963) used a number of equally vague terms to refer to stances a community might take towards a theory, including ''universally received'', ''embraced'', ''acknowledged'', and ''committed to''. [[CiteRef::Kuhn (1962)|pp. 10-13]]
In [[Imre Lakatos]]'s theory of scientific change [[CiteRef::Lakatos (1970)]] Individual theories were encompassed in larger assemblages called research programs. A research program consists of a family of scientific theories containing 'hard core' assumptions, which are stubbornly defended, surrounded by a protective belt of associated auxiliary assumptions, which may be modified if needed to protect the hard core. Lakatos identified three two epistemic stances with respect to research programs. They were either ''progressive'' or ''degenerating''. A research program was ''progressive'' if its theories successfully predicted hitherto unexpected facts.It was degenerating if if failed to make such predictions, and if its theories were fabricated in order to accommodate already known facts. [[CiteRef::Lakatos (1978)]], otherwise it was ''degenerating''.
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