A Formal Model of Theory Vhoice in Science

William Brock and Steven Durlauf

Working papers from Wisconsin Madison - Social Systems

Abstract: Since the classic work of Feyerabend and Kuhn, the role of social factors in the scientific enterprise has been a major concern in the philosophy and history of science. In particular, the presence of social factors such as the desire for prestige or pressures to conform to accepted ideas, have been regarded as reasons to question whether science naturally progresses towards more and more accurate approximations of reality. In this paper, we propose a formal model of theory choice which incorporates private and social influences. We provide a characterization of the interaction of social factors with theory choice. Our results demonstrate that the influence of social factors on scientific progress is far more complex than is typically assumed. In particular, we provide conditions under which social influences actually enhance the rate at which a superior theory replaces its inferior predecessor.

Keywords: DECISION MAKING; CHOICE (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B20 B25 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 26 pages
Date: 1997
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Related works:
Journal Article: A formal model of theory choice in science (1999)
Working Paper: A Formal Model of Theory Choice in Science (1997)
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