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    Home/Original/inverse
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    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Confirmational holism, as Sober argues against Quine, does not extend to mathematical auxiliaries since they are not tested by any possible experimental outcome.

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    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Mathematical auxiliaries are empirically testable indirectly: wrong math yields wrong predictions, triggering revision.
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    • 2.The boundary between mathematical and physical hypotheses is blurry—geometry was once thought mathematical, now empirical.
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    • 3.Quine's holism explains actual scientific practice: physicists do revise mathematical frameworks when experiments fail.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Mathematical auxiliaries (like set theory axioms) are chosen for convenience and internal consistency, not empirical fit.
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    • 2.Experimental data underdetermines physics but not mathematics—no observation can falsify a purely formal system.
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    • 3.Sober's distinction preserves explanatory power: we can blame failed predictions on physics while keeping math reliable.
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