The foundation of all philosophy

Newton's third rule

Kathleen Okruhlik

pp. 97-113

in: James BROWN, Jürgen Mittelstrass (eds), An intimate relation, Berlin, Springer, 1989

Abstract

The recent revival of the interest in scientific realism and the status of theoretical entities makes it appropriate to look once more at the debate surrounding Newton's third "Rule of Philosophizing". The questions at issue concern when (if ever) one is justified in making inferences from observation reports to claims about unobservable entities and what constraints (if any) must supplement the requirement of hypothetico-deductive adequacy in making such inferences.