Saving the Data
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8399788 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Greg Lusk (0000-0002-2372-711X, Michigan State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 277-298 |
| Publication date | 2021-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0882 • E-ISSN: 1464-3537 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjps/axy072 |
| OpenAlex | W2905429929 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 22 |
Three decades ago, Bogen and Woodward ([1988]) argued against the possibility and usefulness of scientific explanations of data. They developed a picture of scientific reasoning where stable phenomena were identified via data without much input from theory. Rather than explain data, theories ‘save the phenomena’. In contrast, I argue that there are good reasons to explain data, and the practice of science reveals attempts to do so. I demonstrate that algorithms employed to address inverse problems in remote-sensing applications should be understood as attempts to identify phenomena by explaining the data. Thus, this paper furthers understanding of data-to-phenomena reasoning in science, and demonstrates theory may play a more central role in phenomena identification than previously recognized.
Cognitive science · Contrast (vision) · Data science · Epistemology · Identification (biology) · Management science · Scientific reasoning · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Psychology · Scientific Computing and Data Management
Making Things Happen
Data meet theory
Data and phenomena
Data and phenomena
Underdetermination and decomposition in Kepler's Astronomia Nova
Rehabilitating theory
Underdetermination, Black Boxes, and Measurement
Model Selection and the Multiplicity of Patterns in Empirical Data
Data, Phenomena, and Reliability
Data, Phenomena, Signal, and Noise
The Place of the Explanation of Particular Facts in Science
Saving the Phenomena
Idealization XII
Computer Simulation, Measurement, and Data Assimilation
| Citations per year | 0.25 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2022 - 2022 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |