Abstract
Investigating random homicides involves constructing models of an odd sort. While the differences between these models and scientific models are radical, calling them models is justified both by functional and structural similarities. Serial homicide investigations illustrate the marked difference between theoretical models in science and the models applied in these criminal investigations. This is further illustrated by considering Glymourian bootstrapping in attempts to solve such homicides. The solutions that result differ radically from explanations in science that are confirmed or disconfirmed by occurrences. Unlike the scientist, the flatfoot gumshoe is also barefoot: he is bereft of a general, determinative theoretical frame. This result shows that criminal investigations do not apply ‘science’ in the Galilean sense.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allen, Francis A.: 1985, ‘Criminal Justice, Legal Values, and the Rehabilitative Ideal’, in Jeffrie Murphy (ed.),Punishment and Responsibility, Wadsworth, Florence, Kentucky, pp. 180–89.
Beltrami, Edward: 1987,Mathematics for Dynamic Modeling, Academic Press, San Diego.
Cartwright, Nancy: 1983,How the Laws of Physics Lie, Oxford University Press, New York.
Copi, Irving: 1986,Introduction to Logic, 7th ed., Macmillan, New York, pp. 492–501.
DSMI, DSMII, and DSMIII: 1980,American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, APA, Washington, D.C.
Edidin, Aron: 1983, ‘Bootstrapping without Bootstraps’, in John Earman (ed.),Testing Scientific Theories MSPS X, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp. 43–54.
Eco, Umberto and Thomas A. Sebeok (eds.): 1983,The Sign of Three, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana.
Egger, S. A.: 1984, ‘A Working Definition of Serial Murder and the Reduction of Linkage Blindness’,Journal of Police Science and Administration 12, 348–57.
Garcia Ferrando, Manual: 1985, ‘Causal Analysis and Model Making in Sociology’,Revista Espanola de Investigaciones Sociologicas 29, 143–64.
Giere, Ronald N.: 1986, ‘Cognitive Models in the Philosophy of Science’, in Arthur Fine and Peter Machamer (eds.),PSA 1986:Volume Two, Philosophy of Science Association.
Ginzburg, Carlo: 1983, ‘Clues: Morelli, Freud, and Sherlock Holmes’, in Umberto Eco and Thomas A. Sebeok (eds.),The Sign of Three, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, Indiana, pp. 81–118.
Glymour, Clark: 1980,Theory and Evidence, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Glymour, Clark: 1983, ‘On Testing and Evidence’, in John Earman (ed.),Testing Scientific Theories MSPS X, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp. 3–26.
Hanson, N. R.: 1971,Observation and Explanation: A Guide to Philosophy of Science, Harper & Row, New York.
Liebert, John A.: 1985, ‘Contributions of Psychiatric Consultation in the Investigation of Serial Murder’,International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 29, pp. 187–200.
Llewellyn, Karl: 1949, ‘Law and the Social Sciences — Especially Sociology’,Harvard Law Review,62, pp. 1286–87.
McMullin, Ernan: 1985, ‘Galilean Idealization’,Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 16, 247–73.
Mirabelli, Andre: 1978, ‘Belief and Incremental Confirmation of One Hypothesis Relative to Another’, in Peter D. Asquith and Ian Hacking (eds.),PSA 1978:Volume One, Philosophy of Science Association.
Nordby, Jon J.: 1986, ‘Sleuthing in the Computer Age’, paper delivered at Central Washington University (April).
Nordby, Jon J. and William J. Walker: 1985, ‘Report on Green River Task Force Investigative Strategies and Information Management’, King County Police Document, Seattle, Washington.
Podolsky, E.: 1965, ‘The Lust Murderer’,Medico-Legal Journal 33, 174–78.
Retvich, E.: 1965, ‘Sex Murder and the Potential Sex Murderer’,Diseases of the Nervous System 26, 640–48.
Schon, Donald A.: 1984,The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, Basic Books, New York.
Szabo, Dennis: 1985, ‘Nature and Culture, the Innate and the Acquired: Some Considerations on the Reactivation of the Debate and its Impact in Criminology’,L'Année Sociologique 35, 233–71.
Thagard, Paul: 1986, ‘Computational Models in the Philosophy of Science’, in Arthur Fine and Peter Machamer (eds.),PSA 1986: Volume Two, Philosophy of Science Association.
van Fraassen, Bas C.: 1980,The Scientific Image, Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, New York.
Wimsatt, William: 1987, ‘False Models as Means to Truer Theories’, in Matthew H. Nitecki and Antoni Hoffman (eds.),Neutral Models in Biology, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 23–55.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
I wish to thank philosophers Keith Cooper, William Wimsatt, and, especially, Jay Bachrach for helpful comments on earlier versions of this paper.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nordby, J.J. Bootstrapping while barefoot (crime models vs. theoretical models in the hunt for serial killers). Synthese 81, 373–389 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00869322
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00869322