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Perilous thoughts: comment on van Fraassen

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Abstract

Bas van Fraassen’s empiricist reading of Perrin’s achievement invites the question: whose doubts about atoms did Perrin put to rest? This comment recontextualizes the argument and applies the notion of empirical grounding to some contemporary work in behavioral biology.

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Notes

  1. Perrin (1926, p. 13).

  2. Thus, it seems in principle possible that some other equally comprehensive theory could also be empirically grounded.

  3. Caspi et al. (2002), Moffitt et al. (2005).

  4. Caspi and Moffitt (2006).

References

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  • Moffitt T. E., Caspi A., Rutter M. (2005). Strategy for investigating interactions between measured genes and measured environments. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 473–481.

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  • Perrin, J.-B. (1926).Discontinuous structure of matter 1926 Nobel prize in physics lecture. Accessed March 29, 2008, from http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physic0s/laureates/1926/perrin-lecture.html.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Philosophy Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305-2155, USA

    Helen Longino

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  1. Helen Longino
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Correspondence to Helen Longino.

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Longino, H. Perilous thoughts: comment on van Fraassen. Philos Stud 143, 25–32 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-008-9316-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-008-9316-z

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