The Development of the Concept of Hypothesis from Copernicus to Boyle and Newton
The Development of the Concept of Hypothesis from Copernicus to Boyle and Newton

Summary/Abstract: The period of history from Copernicus to Boyle and Newton covers a time of revolution in scientific method. The development of the concept of a hypothesis is part of this changing scientific method, and there are as many opinions on, and uses of, hypotheses as there are people involved in the revolution. Furthermore, there are many modern studies of these opinions and uses, studies which range from historical description to more philosophical analysis. The purpose of this paper is not to add to this vast literature, but rather to propose a coarse and simple tool by means of which the philosopher can begin to extract a general philosophical understanding of the development of the concept of hypothesis. The proposed strategy is to consider only the purpose with which hypotheses were put forward, and the type of justification which was considered suitable for hypotheses. The appropriateness of this strategy can be assessed by its effectiveness, and this paper is a first attempt to apply the strategy to the concept of hypothesis during the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century. The strategy is used to distinguish between different types of hypothesis, and to detect a general trend in the evolution of the concept. It is hoped that both these features allow a deeper philosophical understanding of the role of hypotheses in seventeenth-century thought.

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