Changes

|Summary='''Larry Laudan''' is an American philosopher of science who greatly shaped the debates in the field from the late 1970s till the mid 1990s. He wrote many works notably, [[Laudan (1977)|''Progress and its Problems (1977)'']], [[Laudan (1981)|''Science and Hypothesis (1981)'']], and importantly [[Laudan (1984)|''Science and Values (1984)'']].[[CiteRef::Laudan (1977)]][[CiteRef::Laudan (1981)]][[CiteRef::Laudan (1984)]] Larry Laudan’s most notable contribution to the study of scientific change is his ''reticulated model'' of scientific change where [[Method|methods]] of theory evaluation change together with scientific [[Theory|theories]] and goals of scientific inquiry in a piecemeal rational fashion. He later defended his view from the criticisms made by notable colleagues like John Worrall.

|Historical Context=Prior to Laudan’s contribution to the discourse on scientific change, the Kuhnian tradition was the prevailing approach to the topic. In this preceding tradition, methods were seen as fixed to the paradigm in which they were utilized. Theories were also seemingly fixed to the paradigm in which they were discovered.

===Early Views===

Laudan’s early views are best seen through his work, ''Progress and its Problems (1977)'' where he discusses science as a process of evolution that utilizes empirically verified evidence. According to Laudan, comparison of theories and concepts and finding the solutions to theories confronted with anomalies comprise a key part to the changing nature of science.[[CiteRef::Laudan (1977)]]