Measurement Outside the Laboratory

Philosophy of Science 72 (5):850-863 (2005)
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Abstract

The kinds of models discussed in this paper function as measuring instruments. We will concentrate on two necessary steps for measurement: (1) the search of a mathematical representation of the phenomenon; (2) this representation should cover an invariant relationship between the properties of the phenomenon to be measured and observable accociated attributes of a measuring instrument. Therefore, the measuring instrument should function as a nomological machine. However, invariant relationships are not necessarily ceteris paribus regularities, but could also occur when the influence of the environment is negligible. Then we are able to achieve accurate measurements outside the laboratory.

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Marcel Boumans
Utrecht University

Citations of this work

Old and New Problems in Philosophy of Measurement.Eran Tal - 2013 - Philosophy Compass 8 (12):1159-1173.
Computer Simulation, Measurement, and Data Assimilation.Wendy S. Parker - 2017 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 68 (1):273-304.
Measurement in Science.Eran Tal - 2015 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Computer simulation and the features of novel empirical data.Greg Lusk - 2016 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 56:145-152.

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References found in this work

The Dappled World: A Study of the Boundaries of Science.Nancy Cartwright - 1999 - New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Data and phenomena.James Woodward - 1989 - Synthese 79 (3):393 - 472.
The Dappled World. A Study on the Boundaries of Science.[author unknown] - 1999 - Tijdschrift Voor Filosofie 63 (1):209-209.
Basic Concepts of Measurement.Brian Ellis - 1968 - Cambridge University Press.

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