Everything about Instrumentalism
Position in the philosophy of science
In philosophy of science and in epistemology, instrumentalism is a methodological view that ideas are useful instruments, and that the worth of an idea is based on how effective it is in explaining and predicting natural phenomena. According to instrumentalists, a successful scientific theory reveals nothing known either true or false about nature's unobservable objects, properties or processes. Scientific theory is merely a tool whereby humans predict observations in a particular domain of nature by formulating laws, which state or summarize regularities, while theories themselves do not reveal supposedly hidden aspects of nature that somehow explain these laws. Instrumentalism is a perspective originally introduced by Pierre Duhem in 1906. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: InstrumentalismA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: Instrumentalism and the publish-or-perish regimeInfluential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: Principles of instrumental analysisThe most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: Questioning linguistic instrumentalism: English, neoliberalism, and language tests in JapanCited 242 times
- Go sideways: VerificationismA closely related topic
- Go sideways: Logical positivismA closely related topic
📖 Definitions
Noun In the philosophy of science, the view that concepts and theories are merely useful instruments whose worth is measured not by whether the concepts and theories are true or false (or correctly depict reality), but how effective they are in explaining and predicting phenomena.
🗂️ The subject at a glance
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
Questioning linguistic instrumentalism: English, neoliberalism, and language tests in Japan
Risk, Instrumentalism and the Humane Project in Social Work: Identifying the Informal Logics of Risk Management in Children's Statutory Services
Linguistic Instrumentalism in Singapore
Taking a critical stance toward internationalization ideologies in higher education: idealism, instrumentalism and educationalism
Beyond instrumentalism: Broadening the understanding of social innovation in socio-technical energy systems
“Defensive instrumentalism” and the legacy of New Labour's cultural policies
Social and Environmental Performance at SMEs: Considering Motivations, Capabilities, and Instrumentalism
Instrumentalism, Parsimony, and the Akaike Framework
🆕 Influential since 2022
Instrumentalism and the publish-or-perish regime
School‐as‐Institution or School‐as‐Instrument? How to Overcome Instrumentalism without Giving Up on Democracy
The Literalist Fallacy and the Free Energy Principle: Model Building, Scientific Realism, and Instrumentalism
Reframing Education Beyond the Bounds of Strong instrumentalism: Educational Practices, Sensory Experience, and Relational Aesthetics
Embedded Epistemic Instrumentalism: An Account of Epistemic Normativity
📚 Books worth reading
Principles of instrumental analysisDouglas Arvid Skoog, Donald M. West · 1971
OrchestrationCecil Forsyth · 1914
Greg's MicroscopeMillicent E. Selsam · 1963
Instrumental methods of analysisHobart Hurd Willard, Lynne L. Merritt · 1948
A Dictionary of Musical ThemesHarold Barlow, Sam Morgenstern · 1948
Sounds and scoresHenry Mancini · 1962
Universal dictionary of violin and bow makersWilliam Henley · 1959
Mechanical measurementsT. G. Beckwith, Thomas G. Beckwith · 1961
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
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