Underdetermined Method Change theorem (Barseghyan-2015)

An attempt to answer the question of Determinism vs. Underdeterminism in Scientific Change which states "The process of method change is not necessarily deterministic: employed methods are by no means the only possible implementations of abstract requirements."

Underdetermined Method Change theorem was formulated by Hakob Barseghyan in 2015.1 It is currently accepted by Scientonomy community as the best available theory on the subject.

History

Acceptance Record

Here is the complete acceptance record of Underdetermined Method Change theorem (Barseghyan-2015):

Community	Accepted From	Acceptance Indicators	Still Accepted	Accepted Until	Rejection Indicators
Scientonomy	1 January 2016	The theorem became de facto accepted by the community at that time together with the whole theory of scientific change.	Yes

Question Answered

Underdetermined Method Change theorem (Barseghyan-2015) is an attempt to answer the following question: Is the process of scientific change a strictly deterministic process? Will two unconnected communities experience a similar historical series of changes in their individual mosaics?

See Determinism vs. Underdeterminism in Scientific Change for more details.

Description

The third law allows for two distinct scenarios of method employment. A method may become employed because it follows strictly from accepted theories or employed methods, or it may the abstract requirements of some other employed method. This second scenario allows for creative ingenuity and depends on the technology of the times, therefore it may be fulfilled in many ways and allows underdeterminism 1p. 198.

References

1. a b ↑ Barseghyan, Hakob. (2015) The Laws of Scientific Change. Springer.

Contributors

Jacob MacKinnon (10.0%), Paul Patton (2.8%), Hakob Barseghyan (12.5%), Jacqueline Sereda (74.8%)