The Aesthetics of Theory Selection and the Logics of Art

Abstract

Philosophers of science discuss whether theory selection depends on aesthetic judgments or criteria, and whether these putatively aesthetic features are genuinely extra-epistemic. As examples, judgments involving criteria such as simplicity and symmetry are often cited. However, other theory selection criteria, such as fecundity, coherence, internal consistency, and fertility, more closely match those criteria used in art contexts and by scholars working in aesthetics. Paying closer attention to the way these criteria are used in art contexts allows us to understand some evaluative and developmental practices in scientific theory selection as genuinely aesthetic, enlarging the scope of the goals of science.

Disagreement and Agonistic Chance in Peer Review

“…Scientific qualities of many types can fill a reviewer with a particular feeling of intellectual enthusiasm and delight about a given research idea. O’Loughlin and McCallum (2019, 333) suggested that quality criteria such as “coherence, fruitfulness, non-ad-hoc-ness, and internal consistency as genuinely aesthetic criteria …are also sought in theory selection and development in science.” On the whole, both the epistemic-aesthetic and intuitive aspects of academic judgment are of crucial importance to understanding how variation and disagreement can emerge in the evaluation process.…”

Form and Content: A Defense of Aesthetic Value in Science

“… 7 For alternative responses to Todd’s claims, see Dutilh Novaes (2019) and O’Loughlin and McCallum (2019). Currie (forthcoming) and Turner (2019) discuss the connection between aesthetics and the epistemic aims of science, also departing from Todd’s position. …”