Steven French/ Melanie Keene/ Alice Murphy
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Science is often mistakenly thought to involved nothing but cold reason. In reality, very human acts of creativity appear everywhere. We explore the role of imaginative thinking in science. Are thought experiments sources of knowledge or just hypotheses? Can a story or narrative also be a scientific explanation? And how should a scientist balance creative thinking with respect for the facts?
Speakers
Steven French, Professor of Philosophy of Science, University of Leeds
Melanie Keene, Fellow, Homerton College, University of Cambridge
Alice Murphy, Postgraduate Researcher, University of Leeds
Chair
Jonathan Birch, Fellow, Forum for Philosophy; Associate Professor of Philosophy, LSE
Supported by the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, LSE.
Recorded on 24 October 2018 at the LSE.
