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Book SynopsisIn Judgments of Beauty in Theory Evaluation, Devon Brickhouse-Bryson argues that judgments of beauty are a justified part of theory evaluation of all sorts, including both scientific theory evaluation and philosophical theory evaluation. He supports this argument with an account of beautyinherited from Kant and Mothersillon which the distinctive nature of judgments of beauty is that they are unprincipled, yet possible. Brickhouse-Bryson analyzes two important methods of theory evaluationreflective equilibrium and simplicityand argues that these methods require making judgments of beauty understood. He further argues that these methods of theory evaluation are not anomalies, but that they point to a deeper lesson about the nature of theorizing and the necessity of using judgments of beauty to evaluate systems, like theories. This book has implications for the debate in philosophy of science over judgments of beauty and also prompts a reckoning in philosophy itself over the use of judgme
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Theory Evaluation
Chapter 1: Relativism about Beauty
Chapter 2: An Account of Beauty: Unprincipled, Yet Genuine
Chapter 3: Reflective Equilibrium: Judgments of Coherence as Judgments of Beauty
Chapter 4: Simplicity: Judgments of Simplicity as Judgments of Beauty
Chapter 5: Justifying Beauty-Related Methods of Theory Evaluation
Coda: Three Issues for Future Work
Bibliography
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