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However, how experiments are a better confirmatory source than other strategies is unclear, and recent discussions have identified experiments with various modeling ..."/> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="315507632137867"/> <meta property="og:type" content="website"/> <meta property="og:image" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094059im_/https://philpapers.org/assets/raw/philpeople250.png"/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/rec/CURWEM-2"/> <meta name="citation_title" content="Why Experiments Matter"> <meta name="citation_publication_date" content="2018"> <meta name="citation_format_txt" content=" Currie, Adrian & Levy, Arnon (2018). Why Experiments Matter. _Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy_ (9-10):1-25. 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class="name" itemprop="author">Adrian Currie</span></a> & <a class="discreet" title="View other works by Arnon Levy" href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/s/Arnon%20Levy"><span class="name" itemprop="author">Arnon Levy</span></a> </div> <div class="recPubInfo" style="display:flex;align-items:center"> <div> <em class="pubName"><a class="discreet" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/asearch.pl?pub=420">Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy</a></em> (9-10):1-25 (<span itemprop="copyrightYear">2018</span>) <span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3A&journal&genre=article&date=2018&issue=9-10&atitle=Why%20Experiments%20Matter&volume=0&aufirst=Adrian&aulast=Currie&jtitle=Inquiry%3A%20An%20Interdisciplinary%20Journal%20of%20Philosophy"></span> </div> </div> <div div class="philstar-components entry-buttons-container"> <div> <like-button token="" source_id="6217246" source_type="Philpapers::Publication" login_path="/login"> </like-button> </div> <div> <recommend-button token="" source_id="6217246" source_type="Philpapers::Publication" login_path="/login"/> </recommend-button> </div> <bookmark button_classes="is-primary is-outlined" token="" source_id="6217246" source_type="Philpapers::Publication" login_path="/login"/> </bookmark> </div> <hr/> <table id="entry" class="responsive"> <tr> <td class="pp-label"> Authors </td> <td class="content"> <div id="profile-list" class="philstar-components"> <div class="profile-tab"> <div class="profile-tab__image"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094059/https://philpeople.org/profiles/adrian-currie"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094059im_/https://philpeople.org/profiles/photo/204870/small"></img> </a> </div> <div class="profile-tab__content"> <a class="profile-link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094059/https://philpeople.org/profiles/adrian-currie"> Adrian Currie </a> <div class="affil"> Cambridge University </div> </div> <div class="profile-tab__follow"> <follow-button token="" :relationship_id="null" :profile_id="204870" login_path="/login"/> </div> </div> <div class="profile-tab"> <div class="profile-tab__image"> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094059/https://philpeople.org/profiles/arnon-levy"> <img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094059im_/https://philpeople.org/profiles/photo/2564/small"></img> </a> </div> <div class="profile-tab__content"> <a class="profile-link" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094059/https://philpeople.org/profiles/arnon-levy"> Arnon Levy </a> <div class="affil"> Hebrew University of Jerusalem </div> </div> <div class="profile-tab__follow"> <follow-button token="" :relationship_id="null" :profile_id="2564" login_path="/login"/> </div> </div> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pp-label"> Abstract </td> <td class="content" id="abstractElement"> <div itemprop="description"> Traditionally, experimentation is considered a privileged means of confirmation. However, how experiments are a better confirmatory source than other strategies is unclear, and recent discussions have identified experiments with various modeling strategies on the one hand, and with ‘natural’ experiments on the other hand. We argue that experiments aiming to test theories are best understood as controlled investigations of specimens. ‘Control’ involves repeated, fine-grained causal manipulation of focal properties. This capacity generates rich knowledge of the object investigated. ‘Specimenhood’ involves possessing relevant properties given the investigative target and the hypothesis in question. Specimens are thus representative members of the class which a hypothesis refers to. It is in virtue of both control and specimenhood that experiments provide powerful confirmatory evidence. This explains the distinctive power of experiments: although modelers exert extensive control, they do not exert this control over specimens; although natural experiments are of specimens, control is diminished. </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pp-label"> Keywords </td> <td class="content" itemprop="keywords"> <a href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/s/Experiments">Experiments</a>  <a href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/s/Models">Models</a>  <a href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/s/Specimens">Specimens</a>  <a href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/s/Natural%20experiments">Natural experiments</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pp-label"> Categories </td> <td class="content" itemprop="keywords" id="record-categories"> <div><a class="catName" href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/browse/confirmation-misc" rel="section">Confirmation, Misc</a><span class="catIn"> in </span><a class="catArea" href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/browse/general-philosophy-of-science" rel="section">General Philosophy of Science</a></div> <div><a class="catName" href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/browse/experimentation-in-science" rel="section">Experimentation in Science</a><span class="catIn"> in </span><a class="catArea" href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/browse/general-philosophy-of-science" rel="section">General Philosophy of Science</a></div> <div><a class="catName" href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/browse/scientific-models-misc" rel="section">Scientific Models, Misc</a><span class="catIn"> in </span><a class="catArea" href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/browse/general-philosophy-of-science" rel="section">General Philosophy of Science</a></div> (<span class="ll" onclick="editEntry2("CURWEM-2","classificationDetails")">categorize this paper</span>) </td> </tr>  <tr> <td class="pp-label"> DOI </td> <td class="content"> <a class="outLink" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/go.pl?id=CURWEM-2&proxyId=&u=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1080%2F0020174x.2018.1533883" rel="nofollow" onclick="trackclick("CURWEM-2",this.href,0);return true;">10.1080/0020174x.2018.1533883</a></td> </tr> <tr> <td class="pp-label"> Options </td> <td class="content"> <div id="entryOptions" class="row"> <div class="col-md-4 col-sm-6 col-xs-12"> <div class="entry-option"> <img class="texticon" src="/web/20210628094059im_/https://philpapers.org/assets/raw/icons/tango-full/16x16/categories/preferences-system.png"> <a title="Edit this entry" class="ll" href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/edit/CURWEM-2">Edit this record</a> </div> <div class="entry-option"> <img class="texticon" src="/web/20210628094059im_/https://philpapers.org/assets/raw/icons/tango-full/16x16/actions/edit-copy.png"> <span title="Mark as duplicate" class="ll" onclick="window.location='/utils/duplicate.pl?eId=CURWEM-2'">Mark as duplicate</span> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-4 col-sm-6 col-xs-12"> <div class="entry-option"> <div id="la-CURWEM-2" title="Export to another format" class="yui-skin-sam ldiv"></div><img class="texticon" src="/web/20210628094059im_/https://philpapers.org/assets/raw/icons/tango-full/16x16/actions/document-save.png"> <span class="ll" onclick="showExports('CURWEM-2')">Export citation<img src="/web/20210628094059im_/https://philpapers.org/philpapers/raw/subind.gif"></span> </div> <div class="entry-option"> <img class="texticon" src="/web/20210628094059im_/https://philpapers.org/assets/raw/icons/google.png"> <a title="Search on Google Scholar" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210628094059/http://www.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=Why%20Experiments%20Matter+author%3ACurrie">Find it on Scholar</a> </div> </div> <div class="col-md-4 col-sm-6 col-xs-12"> <div class="entry-option"> <img class="texticon" src="/web/20210628094059im_/https://philpapers.org/assets/raw/icons/tango-full/16x16/places/user-trash.png"> <span title="Request deletion from PhilPapers" class="ll" onclick="userDelete("CURWEM-2")">Request removal from index</span> </div> <div class="entry-option"> <img class="texticon" src="/web/20210628094059im_/https://philpapers.org/assets/raw/icons/tango-full/16x16/actions/edit-find-replace.png"> <a href="/web/20210628094059/https://philpapers.org/utils/revisions.pl?eId=CURWEM-2" rel="nofollow">Revision history</a> </div> </div> </div> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class=""></td> <td class=""> <div id="msg-CURWEM-2"></div> </td> </tr> </table> <div class="flex"> <div> <h2>Download options</h2> <div class="download-options"><div class="row"> <div class="col-md-12 pp-label">PhilArchive copy</div> <div class="col-md-12 entry-tbl-content"> <div style="border:5px solid #ccc;padding:10px">  <script type="text/javascript"> document.write("This entry is not archived by us. 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