Comparing the epistemologies of scientific disciplines in two distinct domains: modern physics versus social sciences. I: The epistemology and knowledge characteristics of the physical sciences

Abstract

Abstract Part I describes the epistemology and characteristics of knowledge of a typical physical science such as physics. Classical physics is contrasted with modern particle physics. The impact of the main scientific discoveries of contemporary physics on the development of ‘hard’ sciences domains is surveyed. The ‘hard’ sciences are engaged in an epistemological debate with the ‘soft’ sciences which reveals divergent trends concerning how the complexity–simplicity and the precision–imprecision characteristics of their respective problem domains are formalized. The outlines of this debate between ‘hard’ sciences, covered in Part I, and ‘soft’ sciences, the subject of Part II, become apparent when outlining how their respective epistemologies are evolving. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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