Pierre Maurice Marie Duhem (born the June 10th 1861 and deceased the September 14th 1916) was a chemist and philosopher of sciences French.

Biography

Entered first with the contest of the National university in 1882, Duhem wrote a thesis in chemistry criticizing Marcellin Berthelot, which refused the thesis and which was to be its university and ideological adversary all its life.

Duhem could never be named in Paris, partly because of its political ideas and nuns because it was catholic practitioner and anti republican. He taught chemistry with the Université of Bordeaux but refused a station in history of sciences with Paris.

Philosophy of sciences

Instrumentalism

Opposed to any interpretation materalist and realistic of chemistry and physics, Duhem proposed a design which one will then describe as “instrumentalist” of science in the physical Theory. Its object and its structure (1906). According to instrumentalism, science does not describe reality beyond the Phénomène S but is only the one most convenient instrument of prediction.

It rejected the Atomisme and realistic interpretation of the Mécanique statistics or the Thermodynamique to the profit of “the energetism” of Wilhelm Ostwald. It took party for Ernst Mach and Josiah Willard Gibbs against the atomism of Ludwig Boltzmann.

Physics of a believer

A chapter of the physical Theory is called “the Physics of a believer” and it defends the idea that it is the Cardinal Robert Bellarmin who was right against Galileo since science should only “save appearances” (or “save the phenomena”) without claiming to describe ultimate reality.

Duhem considers that it is not necessary to be believer to adhere to his theory of science, because science does not have to come to a conclusion about metaphysics questions. But he denies that the religion (and in particular the catholic religion ) are an obstacle with the advance in knowledge, as claims it a certain realistic design of the science (which one could call Scientisme); on the contrary, he affirms that the Catholic religion supports scientific progress.

With many recoveries in the physical Theory , Duhem claims Blaise Pascal, scientist and theologist. If the existence of an order of the world cannot at all be justified rationally by the scientist (it is a metaphysical question and not properly physical), on the other hand it is an object of faith . Incompetent to found this conviction, the scientist is also unable to demolish himself some.

Epistemological Holism

It also supports that there is no “crucial Expérience” (as opposed to what said Francis Bacon) in physics. An experiment, an observation or a fact cannot be enough to slice between two theories since each theory can adapt to a recalcitrant experiment by making other installations, such as the modification of an auxiliary assumption. An isolated proposal is thus not concerned in an experiment, it is all the theory which can be confronted with the experiment.

The thesis was taken again by Quine and is called “Thèse of Duhem-Quine” or “Holisme of the confirmation”.

History of sciences

He was also a historian of sciences, in particular in his monumental work the System of the world. History of the cosmological doctrines, of Plato with Copernic (1913-1917) where it defends an interpretation continuist of scientific progress and revalues the importance of the Moyen-âge before the emergence of modern science.

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