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A scientific theory is an explanation of an aspect of the natural world and universe that can be or that has been repeatedly tested and has corroborating evidence in accordance with the scientific method, using accepted protocols of observation, measurement, and evaluation of results.
During the course of history, one theory has succeeded another, and some have suggested further work while others have seemed content just to explain the phenomena. The reasons why one theory has replaced another are not always obvious or simple. The philosophy of science includes the question: What criteria are satisfied by a 'good' theory ...
Kitcher's three criteria for good science are: [14] 1. Independent testability of auxiliary hypotheses "An auxiliary hypothesis ought to be testable independently of the particular problem it is introduced to solve, independently of the theory it is designed to save" (e.g. the evidence for the existence of Neptune is independent of the anomalies in Uranus's orbit).
The main criteria usually proposed are to choose the theory which provides the best (and novel) predictions, the one with the highest explanatory potential, the one which offers better problems or the most elegant and simple one. Alternatively a theory may be preferable if it is better integrated into the rest of contemporary knowledge.
The biographer Vincent Brome recalls Jung remarking in 1938 that it exposed "some of the shortcomings of science". [5] The philosopher Paul Ricœur endorsed "procedures of invalidation" similar to Popper's criteria for falsifiability. [6] The historian Peter Gay described the work as "an important treatise in epistemology". [7]
The history of scientific method considers changes in the methodology of scientific inquiry, not the history of science itself. The development of rules for scientific reasoning has not been straightforward; scientific method has been the subject of intense and recurring debate throughout the history of science, and eminent natural philosophers and scientists have argued for the primacy of ...
It was an important breakthrough in evaluating the performance of visual devices and guided the development of future systems. Using Johnson's criteria, many predictive models for sensor technology have been developed that predict the performance of sensor systems under different environmental and operational conditions.
The theory of Michael Commons' model of hierarchical complexity is also relevant. The description of stages in these theories is more elaborate and focuses on underlying mechanisms of information processing rather than on reasoning as such. In fact, development in information processing capacity is invoked to explain the development of reasoning.