Hypothetico-deductive method

FIGURE 5.8 Phylogenetic cladistics is a hypothetico-deductive method analyses restricted to the construction of a dendrogram from a data matrix are not. 

Johannes Hunger (Chapter 7) takes on another of the standard topics in the philosophy of science, explanation. Hunger examines, in detail, various ways that chemists explain and predict the structural properties of molecules. We learn about ab initio methods, empirical force field models and neural network models, each of which have been used to explain and predict molecular structure. And we learn that none of these approaches can be subsumed under either hypothetico-deductive or causal models of explanation. Either chemistry does not offer proper explanations (the normative option) or our philosophical models for explanation are inadequate to cover explanation in chemistry (the descriptive option). Hunger takes the descriptive option and sketches a more pragmatic approach to the explanation that develops Bas van Fraassen s approach to explanation for chemistry. Once again, we find that the philosophy of science has much to learn from the philosophy of chemistry. 

The experts on the ground develop an empirical and inductive approach based on their experience with concrete cases the researchers develop global methods, concepts based, formalized in a rather hypothetico-deductive manner. Although, fundamentally different, these two visions are today to be put into perspective as they are likely to complement each other and even constitute appropriate means of mutual validation of their logics and the results that they produce. Through... 

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