1924 – 2016
Mary Hesse (1924–2016) was a British philosopher of science at the University of Cambridge, best known for her systematic account of analogical and model-based reasoning in science. Her work challenged purely formalist views of scientific explanation by arguing that models and analogies are not merely heuristic but epistemically constitutive of scientific theories. She also contributed to the philosophy of language and the sociology of scientific knowledge.
Developed a rigorous theory of analogical reasoning in science, distinguishing positive, negative, and neutral analogy
Argued in Models and Analogies in Science (1963) that models are indispensable to scientific explanation, not merely pedagogical aids
Proposed the 'network model' of scientific theories in The Structure of Scientific Inference (1974)
Influenced the turn toward social and pragmatic dimensions of scientific knowledge
Traced the logical structure of analogical inference back to Aristotle's paradeigma