Peter Achinstein (Johns Hopkins): “Epistemic Simplicity: The Last Refuge of a Scoundrel”

Abstract: Both Newton and Einstein claim that nature is simple and that simplicity is a sign of truth. Is there any substance to either claim? The talk will be based on some parts of my recent book “Speculation: Within and About Science”.

Peter Achinstein is Professor of Philosophy at John Hopkins University, specialising in the history and philosophy of science. He is the author of Concepts of Science (1968), Law and Explanation (1971), The Nature of Explanation (1983), and Particles and Waves (1991).