Epistemology of Experiment and the Physiological Acoustics of Hermann von Helmholtz

Dissertation, University of Notre Dame (2001)
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Abstract

Hermann von Helmholtz articulated a conception of science that addresses two important issues: the role of experiments in science the role of theory in experiment. Helmholtz held that perception is structured by concepts and inferential processes, and yet, experiments enjoy epistemic independence from contested theories. The dissertation focuses upon the relation between theory and experiment in his experimental research on hearing. Helmholtz developed an epistemology of experiment informed by an "experimental" theory of perception. He shows how cognitively infused perceptual experience can live quite comfortably with the fact that much experimental knowledge endures through theoretical transformations. ;The first chapter shows that though Helmholtzs conception of science evolved in important ways, it persistently retained core convictions regarding the structure of scientific explanation, the role of experiments, and the nature of perception. John Herschel's and Claude Bernard's views of experiment are examined and briefly compared to those of Helmholtz. The chapter notes as well how his account of perception influenced neo-Kantians such as Cassirer and early logical positivists such as Schlick. ;Chapters two and three discuss Helmholtz's theory of perception and emphasize its experimental foundations. The chapters explore both his Zeichentheorie and his claim that humans learn to interpret sensory content by unifying sensations into perceptual objects through unconscious inferences. He argues that perceptual knowledge requires the a priori assumption of causal relation and that perceptual knowledge amounts to unique functional coordination among objects, events, and perceptual representations. ;Chapter four surveys in detail his research program in physiological acoustics and discusses a number of experiments and theories. In chapter five I argue that his experimental program in physiological acoustics was structured by his theory of perception and that his hearing theories were important guides to his experimental designs. However, Helmholtz's experimental results were epistemically independent of the theoretical proposals guiding the experiments. The soundness of his data depended neither upon his theory of perception nor upon his particular explanatory hypotheses. Chapter six closely examines several experimental case-studies that illustrate the methodological issues outlined in chapter five. They show that experiments had numerous functions in addition to theory-testing. ;The conclusion emphasizes that Helmholtz's epistemology of experiment was unique in relation both to his contemporaries and the New Experimentalists. A decisive factor is the complementary experimental epistemology found in his theory of perception. I also briefly discuss Helmholtz's attempt to provide scientific foundations for the understanding of musical harmony and his view that important dimensions of musical creativity and perception remain beyond the reach of naturalistic explanation

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