Pursuit and Acceptance

What is the relationship between the process of theory acceptance and that of theory pursuit?

Many accepted theories were 'in the running' (i.e. pursued) for a time before they became accepted. What is the relationship between the pursuit of a theory and its future acceptance or unacceptance. If there is a correlation between the pursuit of a theory and its future acceptance or unacceptance, what is the nature of this correlation? This question is to be understood as related to, but distinct from Pursuit as Acceptance, which instead asks whether pursuit, as an epistemic stance, can be reduced to or expressed through acceptance.

In the scientonomic context, this question was first formulated by Hakob Barseghyan in 2018. The question is currently accepted as a legitimate topic for discussion by Scientonomy community.

In Scientonomy, the accepted answers to the question can be summarized as follows:

• The stance of compatibility can be taken towards an epistemic element.
• The stances of theory acceptance, theory pursuit and theory use can be taken towards a theory.

Scientonomic History

Acceptance Record

Here is the complete acceptance record of this question (it includes all the instances when the question was accepted as a legitimate topic for discussion by a community):

Community	Accepted From	Acceptance Indicators	Still Accepted	Accepted Until	Rejection Indicators
Scientonomy	18 January 2018	It was acknowledged as an open question by the Scientonomy Seminar 2018.	Yes

All Theories

According to our records, no theory has attempted to answer this question.

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Accepted Theories

According to our records, no theory on this topic has ever been accepted.

Suggested Modifications

According to our records, there have been no suggested modifications on this topic.

Current View

In Scientonomy, the accepted answers to the question are Epistemic Stances Towards Epistemic Elements - Compatibility (Fraser-Sarwar-2018), Epistemic Stances Towards Theories - Theory Acceptance (Barseghyan-2015), Epistemic Stances Towards Theories - Theory Pursuit (Barseghyan-2015) and Epistemic Stances Towards Theories - Theory Use (Barseghyan-2015).

Epistemic Stances Towards Epistemic Elements

Epistemic Stances Towards Epistemic Elements - Compatibility (Fraser-Sarwar-2018) states: "The stance of compatibility can be taken towards an epistemic element."

Fraser and Sarwar argued that, as an epistemic stance, compatibility can be taken towards epistemic elements of all types.1p. 70

Epistemic Stances Towards Theories

Epistemic Stances Towards Theories - Theory Acceptance (Barseghyan-2015) states: "The stance of theory acceptance can be taken towards a theory."

According to Barseghyan, acceptance as an epistemic stance can be taken towards theories.2pp. 30-32

Epistemic Stances Towards Theories - Theory Pursuit (Barseghyan-2015) states: "The stance of theory pursuit can be taken towards a theory."

According to Barseghyan, the epistemic stance of pursuit can be taken towards theories, i.e. an epistemic agent can find a theory pursuitworthy.2pp. 30-40

Epistemic Stances Towards Theories - Theory Use (Barseghyan-2015) states: "The stance of theory use can be taken towards a theory."

According to Barseghyan, the epistemic stance of use can be taken towards theories, i.e. an epistemic agent can find a theory useful.2pp. 30-40

Related Topics

This question is a subquestion of Epistemic Stances Towards Theories.