Ein Erkenntnismodell des Nikolaus von Kues und der Grad der Bewährung einer wissenschaftlichen Hypothese

Abstract

The degree of corroboration of a scientific hypothesis is an issue that has been repeatedly discussed in modern theory of sciences (e. g. Popper, 1969). In a preceding paper (Grusser 1983) it was shown that the formulae advanced by Popper to calculate the degree of corroboration C (h, e) are not very satisfactory because the probability values required in the computation of C (h, e) are not available as a rule. Another equation to measure (or define) the degree of corroboration B (h, e) was proposed (eq. (1)), whereby only the number n of unsuccessful efforts to falsify a scientific hypothesis by means of adequate experiments or observations is needed to be known. Shortly after the publication of these ideas I discovered that Nicolaus Cusanus (1401–1464) in his book “De docta ignorantia” had proposed a model of scientific “verisimilitude” which leads to a quite similar relationship between B (h, e) and the number n of independent proofs or observations. The “polygonal” model of verisimilitude (eq.(4)) mentioned by Cusanus is presumably the first quantitative estimate proposed for this problem in philosophical literature.