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|Historical Context=In Pierre Duhem’s time, the major idea regarding scientific change was induction which was called inductive sciences. It would make broad generalizations from specific observations.
Duhem opposed many of the beliefs accepted at the time including the idea of infallibilism. At the time, as a result of Newton’s Experimentum Crucis, many scientists and philosopher’s believed in the idea of crucial experiments. These are experiments that determine if a hypothesis or theory is superior or all other theories and hypothesis. Duhem developed the idea of under-determinism which stated it was impossible to know whether data proved a theory to be superior or simply supported an underlying assumption.[[CiteRef::Kanschik(2009)]]
He rejected both Newton's theory and atomism accepting his own idea of thermodynamics. Although Duhem's rejection of atomism was a belief in instrumentalism, he did believe that there was an ultimate truth. Certain groups of physics such as thermodynamics was a way to reach it. He believed that generalized thermodynamics could provide the foundation of all physics and chemistry.[[CiteRef::Duhem (1903)]]
