Redrafting the Ontology of Scientific Change

Abstract

Recent developments in theoretical scientonomy coupled with a reflection on the practice of the Encyclopedia of Scientonomy all suggest that the ontology of scientific change currently accepted in scientonomy has serious flaws. The new ontology, suggested in this paper, solves some of the issues permeating the current ontology. Building on Rawleigh’s suggestion, it considers a theory as an attempt to answer a certain question. It also introduces the category of definition as a subtype of theory. It also reveals that methods and methodologies of the currently accepted ontology do not differ from the perspective of their propositional content and, thus, belong to the same class of epistemic elements. This is captured in the new definition of method as a set of criteria for theory evaluation. It is also argued that methods are a subtype of normative theories. It is shown that normative theories of all types, including methods, ethical norms, and aesthetic norms, can be both accepted and employed. Finally, a new definition of scientific mosaic is suggested to fit the new ontology.
 
 Suggested Modifications
 [Sciento-2018-0005]: Accept the following definitions of method and methodology:
 
 Method ≡ a set of criteria for theory evaluation. 
 Methodology ≡ a normative discipline that formulates the rules which ought to be employed in theory assessment.
 
 Reject the previous definitions of method and methodology.
 [Sciento-2018-0006]: Accept the following ontology of epistemic elements, where: 
 
 Each theory is an attempt to answer a certain question.
 Theories can be of three types – descriptive, normative, or definitions.
 Method is a subtype of normative theory.
 Questions as well as theories of all types – including methods – can be accepted.
 Normative theories of all types can be employed; the name of the stance is norm employment.
 
 Accept the following definition of theory acceptance:
 
 Theory acceptance ≡ a theory is said to be accepted by the epistemic agent if it is taken as the best available answer to its respective question.
 
 Also accept the following questions as legitimate topics of inquiry:
 
 Role of Definitions in Scientific Change: Do definitions play any distinct role in the process of scientific change, or do they only exhibit the exact same patterns as descriptive and normative theories?
 Reducibility of Definitions: Are definitions a distinct subtype of theory, or are they somehow reducible to descriptive theories and/or normative theories?
 
 Reject the previous ontology of epistemic elements and the previous definition of theory acceptance.
 [Sciento-2018-0007]: Accept the following definition of definition:
 
 Definition ≡ A statement of the meaning of a term.
 
 [Sciento-2018-0008]: Provided that modification [Sciento-2018-0006] is accepted, accept the following definition of norm employment:
 
 Norm Employment ≡ a norm is said to be employed if its requirements constitute the actual expectations of the epistemic agent. 
 
 [Sciento-2018-0009]: Accept the new definition of scientific mosaic:
 
 Scientific Mosaic ≡ a set of all epistemic elements accepted and/or employed by the epistemic agent. 
 
 Reject the previous definition of scientific mosaic.
 [Sciento-2018-0010]: Accept that:
 
 Epistemic stances of all types can be taken explicitly and/or implicitly.
 Epistemic elements of all types can be explicit and/or implicit.
 
 Accept the following question as a legitimate topic of inquiry:
 
 Tracing Implicit/Explicit: Should observational scientonomy trace when a certain stance towards an epistemic element was taken explicitly or implicitly? What are the practical considerations for and against collecting and storing this data?