Aesthetic and Other Theoretical Virtues in Science

American Society for Aesthetics Graduate E-Journal 1 (2):9-16 (2009)
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Abstract

I first provide an introduction to a neglected topic in contemporary aesthetics: intellectual beauty. I then review James McAllister’s critique of autonomism and reductionism regarding the relation between empirical and aesthetic criteria in scientific theory evaluation. Finally, I critique McAllister’s “aesthetic induction” and defend an alternative model that emphasizes the holistic coherence of aesthetic and other theoretical virtues in scientific theorizing.

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10.4299/asage.v1i2.26

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Jason Simus
University of North Texas

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References found in this work

Two Dogmas of Empiricism.W. Quine - 1951 - [Longmans, Green].
Two Dogmas of Empiricism.W. V. O. Quine - 1951 - In Robert B. Talisse & Scott F. Aikin (eds.), The Pragmatism Reader: From Peirce Through the Present. Princeton University Press. pp. 202-220.
The omniscienter: Beauty and scientific understanding.Peter Kosso - 2002 - International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 16 (1):39 – 48.

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