concepts
type: Collection
type: ConceptGroup
member: philosophy of experiment

philosophy of experiment
type: Concept
broader: philosophy of science
definition: A philosophy of experiment has been slow in coming, although experimentation was discussed intermittently since the 17th century, when the concept of experiment began to be recognized as a necessary component of the scientific quest. The reason why philosophy of experiment is a late bloomer has to do with the history of philosophy of science; during the first half of the 20th century, when logical positivism dominated the scene, the emphasis was principally on theory, its logical structure and representational features, while experiment and its physical execution were generally considered transparent and unworthy of philosophical investigation—a mere generator of data turned into evidence. [Source: Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Social Sciences; Experiment, Philosophy of]

philosophy of science
type: Concept
narrower: philosophy of experiment