Parsimony and the units of selection

Elliott Sober

pp. 211-219

in: Nancy J. Nersessian (ed), The process of science, Berlin, Springer, 1987

Abstract

Philosophers of science often express suspicion of the remarks scientists make about scientific method. These pronouncements, so it is said, often are after-the-fact rationalizations that fail to reflect the real epistemological principles that scientists obey in practice. How often have we heard that if Einstein had been the Machian he sometimes said he was, he never would have discovered the special theory of relativity?