Miraculous Success? Inconsistency and Untruth in Kirchhoff’s Diffraction Theory

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8399478
AutoresJuha Saatsi (0000-0002-8440-8761, University of Leeds, autor de correspondencia), Peter Vickers (0000-0001-5644-4290, University of Leeds, autor de correspondencia)
Año2011
Volumen62
Número1
Páginas29-46
Fecha de publicación2011-03-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0007-0882 • E-ISSN: 1464-3537
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/bjps/axq008
OpenAlexW2158341237
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas13
Referencias citadas19

Kirchhoff’s diffraction theory is introduced as a new case study in the realism debate. The theory is extremely successful despite being both inconsistent and not even approximately true. Some habitual realist proclamations simply cannot be maintained in the face of Kirchhoff’s theory, as the realist is forced to acknowledge that theoretical success can in some circumstances be explained in terms other than truth. The idiosyncrasy (or otherwise) of Kirchhoff’s case is considered. 1 Introduction 2 The Naïve Optimist 3 Kirchhoff’s Theory 4 Inconsistency and Untruth in Kirchhoff’s Theory 4.1 The inconsistency puzzle 4.2 The error-tolerance puzzle 5 Ramifications for Realism 6 Conclusion

Epistemology · Face (sociological concept) · Kirchhoff integral theorem · Linguistics · Mathematical analysis · Physics · Theoretical physics · History and Theory of Mathematics · Mathematics · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Philosophy, Science, and History