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A Paradox in Newtonian Gravitation Theory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2023

John D. Norton
John D. Norton*
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
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Extract

In traditional philosophy of science, we routinely attribute powers to scientists that are near divine. It is only in desperate circumstances that we may even entertain the possibility that scientists are not logically omniscient and do not immediately see all the logical consequences of their commitments. The inhabitants of the grubby world of real science fall far short of this ideal. In truth they will routinely commit themselves consciously and even enthusiastically to the great anathema of philosophers: a logically inconsistent set of propositions.

Type
Part XII. Logical Inconsistency in Scientific Theories
Information
PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association , Volume 1992 , Issue 2: Volume Two: Symposia and Invited Papers 1992 , 1993 , pp. 412 - 420
Copyright
Copyright © 1993 by the Philosophy of Science Association

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