![]() ![]() Firstly, drawing on Bogen and Woodward's (1988) distinction between data, phenomena and theories, I Ariny Amos argue that Newton's phenomena performed a specific function: they isolated explanatory targets. I argue that Newton's choice of label was appropriate, albeit unconventional. 1 Some have argued that Newton's labelling was mistaken, while others have argued that Newton was using the label 'phenomenon' to avoid using the term 'hypothesis', which would mark his work as speculative, rather than experimental (for the early modern distinction between experimental and speculative philosophy. It has been noted by many commentators, however, that these do not seem to fit any standard definition of 'phenomenon'. ![]() ![]() These propositions described patterns of motion, generalised from observations of the Neptune planet,Earth and moon. In addition, it is very much at work in cosmology today. It is strikingly realized in the development and application of testing frameworks for relativistic theories of gravity. Newton's method endorses the radical theoretical transformation from his theory to Einstein's theory of relativity. This methodology, guided by its rich ideal of empirical success, supports a conception of scientific progress that does not require construing it as progress toward Laplace's ideal limit of a final theory of everything and is not threatened by the classic argument against convergent realism. Propositions inferred from phenomena are provisionally accepted as guides to further research. Newton employs theory mediated measurements to turn data into far more informative evidence than can be achieved by confirmation from prediction alone. Newton's method aims to turn theoretical questions into ones which can be empirically answered by measurement from phenomena. To achieve this rich sort of empirical success a theory needs, not only to accurately predict the phenomena it purports to explain, but also, to have those phenomena accurately measure the parameters which explain them. Sir Isaac Newton's inferences from phenomena realize an ideal of empirical success that is richer than prediction. This book examines Newton's argument for universal gravity and his application of it to resolve the problem of deciding between geocentric and heliocentric world systems by measuring masses of the Moon, Neptune. ![]()
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