Citation

Burch TK. Twenty-First Century Society 2006; 1(1): 39-58.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/17450140600679834

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Widely thought to have made social science more scientific, logical empiricism has tended rather to hamper its balanced development. Its emphasis on the ?truth? of ?scientific laws? has promoted competition within and among disciplines, and to the rejection and neglect of valuable scientific ideas. The ?semantic? or ?model-based? school of philosophy of science provides a convincing alternative to logical empiricism. A leading exponent of this school is Ronald Giere in Science Without Laws. For Giere it is the model not the law that is the central element of scientific knowledge. Models are also ?true? only in the sense that definitions are true; they are not empirically true. Models are to be judged, not in terms of truth, but in terms of whether they fit some real-world system closely enough for a given purpose. One can have, says Giere, ?realism without truth?. There can be more than one realistic model pertaining to a given real-world system. Several examples from demography illustrate the negative influence of logical empiricism on cumulative theory and on openness to models from other disciplines. The model-based view, by contrast, encourages a ?tool kit? approach to theory and models. All reasonable models are carefully developed and kept ready at hand for use as appropriate. Some may be useful for explanation, others for prediction, still others for policy formation or for teaching. The same spirit leads to openness across disciplines. One values the leading theories and principles of one's own discipline, but one also recognises their inherent limits, as abstract representations of concrete reality. There follows greater appreciation of the tools of other disciplines.