scholarly journals How Well Does Evolution Explain Endogenous Retroviruses?—A Lakatosian Assessment

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Ruben N. Jorritsma
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Hard Core ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Early History ◽  
Endogenous Retroviruses ◽  
Long Terminal Repeats ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Protective Belt

One of the most sophisticated philosophies of science is the methodology of scientific research programmes (MSRP), developed by Imre Lakatos. According to MSRP, scientists are working within so-called research programmes, consisting of a hard core of fixed convictions and a flexible protective belt of auxiliary hypotheses. Anomalies are accommodated by changes to the protective belt that do not affect the hard core. Under MSRP, research programmes are appraised as ‘progressive’ if they successfully predict novel facts but are judged as ‘degenerative’ if they merely offer ad hoc solutions to anomalies. This paper applies these criteria to the evolutionary research programme as it has performed during half a century of ERV research. It describes the early history of the field and the emergence of the endogenization-amplification theory on the origins of retroviral-like sequences. It then discusses various predictions and postdictions that were generated by the programme, regarding orthologous ERVs in different species, the presence of target site duplications and the divergence of long terminal repeats, and appraises how the programme has dealt with data that did not conform to initial expectations. It is concluded that the evolutionary research programme has been progressive with regard to the issues here examined.

Duhem-Quine, Lakatos and Research Programmes in Economics

1986 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.J. Heijdra ◽  
A.D. Lowenberg
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Research ◽  
Hard Core ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Economic Theories ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
Correct Understanding ◽  
Protective Belt

The Lakatosian methodology of scientific research programmes (MSRP) is intended to circumvent the epistemological difficulties associated with various brands of falsificationist method, of which the most important is the Duhem-Quine problem. We reject the view that Lakatos’ MSRP needs to be re-interpreted before it can be used to appraise economic theories. A correct understanding of Lakatos’ distinction between the hard core and protective belt of a research programme leads to the recognition that conflicting theories can be accommodated within the same programme. This avoids much of the confusion encountered by some economists who have attempted to develop taxonomies of economic theories within a Lakatosian framework, but have made the mistake of overpopulating the discipline of economics with a plethora of spurious research programmes. Many of the latter are more usefully treated as subdisciplinary demi-cores within an overall neoclassical programme.

Arthur Holmes and Continental Drift

1978 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Frankel
Keyword(s):  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Continental Drift ◽  
Hard Core ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Ultimate Concern ◽  
Central Elements ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
Drift Theory ◽  
Growth And Change ◽  
Scientific Growth

Although there are numerous and significant differences between the theories of scientific growth and change proposed by Kuhn, Lakatos, and Laudan, they all hold that specific scientific theories should be viewed as constitutive of more comprehensive theories. Kuhn calls those more general theories ‘paradigms’, Lakatos labels them ‘research programmes’ and Laudan refers to them as ‘research traditions’. They all argue that scientists are much more willing to give up the specific theory within a given research programme rather than the programme itself, and that individual theories should be viewed as attempts to increase the overall explanatory power of the more general theories, since the ultimate concern of the scientist is with the success of the general rather than the specific theory. When a basic theory or research programme is confronted with severe criticism, proponents attempt to protect the hard core or central elements of their programme through the invention of auxiliary hypotheses. Good auxiliary hypotheses adequately answer the objections for which they are designed, and suggest new avenues of research. In 1928, Arthur Holmes provided proponents of continental drift theory with an auxiliary hypothesis which afforded them a badly needed account of the forces responsible for continental drift. Although Holmes' proposal was not ultimately correct, it was the first plausible alternative offered by an exponent of the continental drift research programme.

scholarly journals Is the secularization research programme progressing? Debate on Jörg Stolz’s article on Secularization theories in the 21st century: ideas, evidence, and problems

2020 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-329
Author(s):  
David Voas
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Imre Lakatos ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
Research Programmes

The methodology of scientific research programmes, developed by Imre Lakatos, can help us to identify which theories are strong or weak. Applying this approach suggests that the secularization research programme is progressing, as Stolz argues. Some of the recent advances have been more successful than others, however. In particular, we have done better at understanding how secularization happens than why it happens.

scholarly journals Pemikiran Imre Lakatos (1922-1974) tentang Metodologi Program Riset dan Signifikansinya dalam Kajian Keislaman

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Ahmad Amir Aziz
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Science ◽  
Hard Core ◽  
The Other ◽  
Scientific Theories ◽  
Islamic Studies ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
The One ◽  
Protective Belt ◽  
Do So

Apart from Kuhn and Popper, Lakatos has become an important figure in the<br />field of Philosophy of Science for his scientific theories, which he calls research<br />programmes. For Lakatos, Popper’s theoretical falsification can be immensely dangerous<br />when applied to the already established theories. On the other hand, in contrast to Kuhn<br />who assumed that a paradigm is by its nature immeasurable, Lakatos maintains that the<br />competing scientific discoveries may in fact be compared between one another. To him,<br />the main issues with regard to the logic of discovery cannot be dealt with satisfactorily<br />unless we do so within the framework of research programmes. The practical<br />implementation of this would be that the hard core of this framework cannot be subjected<br />to modification -let alone- rejection. This hard core must in other words be protected<br />from what he terms falsification. Lakatos also maintains that what can be said as scientific<br />is a series of theory, and not a single theory. This model of research programmes can in<br />fact be used in Islamic Studies in order to develop new theoretical principles that may<br />play a role of convincing protective-belt on the one hand, and to find new premises<br />whose discoveries can be used universally on the other

scholarly journals Petroleum geology and thermal maturity of eastern North Greenland - a new energy research project

1995 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 49-52
Author(s):  
L Stemmerik ◽  
F Dalhoff ◽  
I Nilsson
Keyword(s):  
Research Programme ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Source Rocks ◽  
Energy Research ◽  
Basin Modelling ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Uplift History ◽  
North Greenland

Petroleum geological studies were initiated in eastern North Greenland in 1993 as part of a regional mapping programme carried out by the Geological Survey of Greenland (Henriksen, 1994, 1995; Stemmerik & Elvebakk, 1994). These activities continued in 1994, and a three-year research programme was initiated to generate data for basin modelling of the Phanerozoic sedimentary basins in the easternmost part of North Greenland. The basin modelling project is supported by the Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy and is a continuation of previous petroleum-related research programmes in the region (Christiansen, 1989; Hakansson & Stemmerik, this report). The aim of the project is to improve the understanding of the subsidence and uplift history of the adjacent shelf basins, and to evaluate the presence of pre-Carboniferous source rocks with adequate maturity in these areas.

scholarly journals Analysis of research programs: a sociological perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 104-128
Author(s):  
VOLODYMYR REZNIK
Keyword(s):  
Research Program ◽  
Hard Core ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sociological Knowledge ◽  
Functional Connections ◽  
Research Programs ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One ◽  
Structural Levels ◽  
Protective Belt

The origins and content of the methodology of scientific research programs of I. Lakatos are considered taking into account the problems and tasks of the history of sociology. The reception of the methodology of research programs in sociology can be explained by the relevance of the analytical model of the structure and dynamics of the research program in the analysis of sociological knowledge. Within the framework of sociological knowledge, metatheoretical, theoretical and empirical structural levels are analytically distinguished. Certain structural analogies are observed: between the “hard core” and “negative heuristics” of the research program, on the one hand, and metatheory, on the other; between the “protective belt” and the “positive heuristic” of the research program, on the one hand, and theory, on the other; between the empirical content of the research program, on the one hand, and the empirical basis of sociology, on the other. One can observe a number of analogies in the dynamics of functional connections between the structural components of the research program, on the one hand, and the dynamics of functional connections between metatheorizing, theorizing, and empirical analysis in sociology, on the other.

scholarly journals Lakatos’s Research Program and the thought of the Islamic Republic

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Ali Alihosseini ◽  
Hamidreza Keshavarz
Keyword(s):  
History Of Science ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Research Program ◽  
Hard Core ◽  
Islamic Republic ◽  
The Core ◽  
History Of ◽  
Islamic Republic Of Iran ◽  
One Step ◽  
Protective Belt

In the volatile history of science, we come across a series of theories and methods, each of which has emerged and has been used at some point and has been replaced later by another method. These multiple methods and theories have each caused science and scientific knowledge to advance one step forward. One of these theories is Imre Lakatos’s research program which, though a theory often considered in the analysis of the trends of the empirical sciences, given the general principles and the dominant spirit of this theory, it can be also used to study other intellectual currents. Lakatos believes that any theory is a research program that is composed of two parts: a hard core and a protective belt. The hard core is the basis and foundation of every thought and theory .To protect the main theory and to protect it against changes, there exist the protective belts that are somehow a supplement to the core of the theory .According to Lakatos, the progressive or retrogressive nature of a research program depends on the ability and acceptability of the auxiliary hypotheses which serve to protect the hard core. Thus, a research program can be progressive and dynamic if it causes new theories which bring about new predictions by modifying the protective belt. This article has considered the notion of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a research program. In this regard, this study is an attempt to determine the functions of ‘expediency’ in the Islamic Republic using an impression of the concept of ‘expediency’ which is similar to the protective belt by considering Islam as a hard core and as a resistant framework. This article is also an attempt to emphasize the point that, in the Islamic Republic, the concept of ‘expediency’ has the same function which is noted as the protective belt in Lakatos’s view. Therefore, using the notion of ‘interest’ by the advocates of the hard core is an attempt made to prevent the rejection of the hard core and pave the way for the development and change in Islam as an efficient religion.

Analytical Marxism

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Vrousalis
Keyword(s):  
Philosophical Anthropology ◽  
Historical Materialism ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Hard Core ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Human Society ◽  
The Past ◽  
Theory Of History ◽  
Scientific Research Program ◽  
Protective Belt

Marxists believe that an understanding of human society presupposes an understanding of the nature of the production of its material surplus and the nature of control over that surplus. This belief forms part of the “hard core” of the Marxist scientific research program. This hard core is complemented by a set of auxiliary hypotheses and heuristics, constituting what Imre Lakatos has called a scientific research program’s “protective belt.” The protective belt is a set of hypotheses protecting a research program’s hard core. Over the past century and a half, Marxists have populated the protective belt with an economic theory, a theory of history, a theory of exploitation, and a philosophical anthropology, among other things. Analytical Marxism is located in Marxism’s protective belt. It can be seen as a painstaking exercise in intellectual housekeeping. The exercise consists in replacing the tradition’s antiquated, superfluous, or degenerate furnishings with concepts, methods, and auxiliary hypotheses from analytic philosophy and up-to-date social science. The three most influential strands in analytical Marxism are, roughly: its reconstruction of Marx’s theory of history, historical materialism; its philosophical anthropology, including the theory of freedom; and its theory of exploitation, including the theory of class.

scholarly journals Degeneration and Entropy

2022 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Y. S. Chua
Keyword(s):  
Information Theory ◽  
Statistical Mechanics ◽  
Transition Point ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Information Theoretic ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Criteria

Abstract Lakatos’s analysis of progress and degeneration in the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes is well-known. Less known, however, are his thoughts on degeneration in Proofs and Refutations. I propose and motivate two new criteria for degeneration based on the discussion in Proofs and Refutations – superfluity and authoritarianism. I show how these criteria augment the account in Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes, providing a generalized Lakatosian account of progress and degeneration. I then apply this generalized account to a key transition point in the history of entropy – the transition to an information-theoretic interpretation of entropy – by assessing Jaynes’s 1957 paper on information theory and statistical mechanics.

Marx’s Theory: Evolutionary or Revolutionary? An update of Gouldner’s statement on the distinction between Scientific Marxism and Critical Marxism

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Research ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Economic Thought ◽  
History Of Economic Thought ◽  
Scientific Problem ◽  
Marxian Economics ◽  
German Ideology ◽  
History Of ◽  
Relevant Section

The purpose of this article in the field of the history of economic thought is to investigate from a scientific viewpoint whether Marx’s theory is evolutionary or revolutionary by analyzing some main texts of Marx such as The Capital, The German Ideology and The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. The idea to be hereby updated was first seen by this author in the book of Alvin Gouldner, The Two Marxisms. Contradictions and Anomalies in the Development of Theory (Gouldner, 1980). Gouldner confronts Scientific Marxism with its emphasis upon the laws of development against Critical Marxism stressing practice and critiques. This question has been addressed in some realms of non-Marxian economics as a critique of the scientific research programme of Marx and Engels. This is due to this is a fundamental Marx’s topic related to his method and to his use of dialectics in his quest for the overcoming of capitalism and ultimately for human emancipation. The result is that the ambiguity between both Marxist theories is related to the fastness of change and method, whereby Critical Marxism is nowadays more relevant. Section 1 is an introduction on the scientific problem at hand. Section 2 is about related problems. Section 3 is a brief analysis of key Marx’s texts. Section 4 updates Goldner’s insights. Section 5 gives open conclusions. References are listed at the end of the article.

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