Why is beauty a road to the truth?

Abstract

This paper discusses Theo Kuipers' account of beauty and truth. It challenges Kuipers' psychological account of how scientists come to appreciate beautiful theories, as well as his attempt to justify the use of aesthetic criteria on the basis of a "meta-induction." I propose an alternative psychological/philosophical account based on emotional coherence.

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Paul Thagard
University of Waterloo

Citations of this work

Epistemic Engagement, Aesthetic Value, and Scientific Practice.Adrian Currie - 2023 - British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 74 (2):313-334.
Metaphors in arts and science.Walter Veit & Ney Milan - 2021 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 11 (2):1-24.

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References found in this work

Conceptual Revolutions.Paul Thagard - 1992 - Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Beauty & revolution in science.James William McAllister - 1996 - Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Beauty and Revolution in Science.James W. Mcallister - 1999 - Philosophical Quarterly 49 (194):125-128.

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