Mary Hesse 1924 – 2016
Mary Hesse (1924 – 2016) was a British philosopher of the Contemporary era, associated with Analytic Philosophy.
Mary Brenda Hesse was a British philosopher of science and one of the first women to hold a senior chair in the philosophy of science in the United Kingdom. After early studies in mathematics and electromagnetism, she turned to philosophy of science and produced influential analyses of the role of models, metaphors, and analogies in scientific reasoning. Her Models and Analogies in Science and The Structure of Scientific Inference shaped the post-positivist understanding of how scientific theories represent the world. She held the chair of philosophy of science at Cambridge for many years.
Key facts
- Nationality
- British
- Era
- Contemporary
- Movements
- Analytic Philosophy
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Mary Hesse:
“Models are essential to scientific theorizing.”
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Attributed to Mary Hesse:
“All scientific knowledge is metaphorical at the deepest level.”
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Attributed to Mary Hesse:
“Theories are not mere instruments; they are claims about the world.”
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Attributed to Mary Hesse:
“Analogy is the engine of theoretical progress.”
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Attributed to Mary Hesse:
“Inference in science is always defeasible, always open to revision.”
Mary Hesse by topic
Frequently asked about Mary Hesse
- When did Mary Hesse live?
- Mary Hesse was born in 1924 and died in 2016.
- Where was Mary Hesse from?
- Mary Hesse was a British philosopher of the Contemporary era.
- What philosophical movements is Mary Hesse associated with?
- Mary Hesse was associated with Analytic Philosophy.
- What was Mary Hesse known for?
- Mary Brenda Hesse was a British philosopher of science and one of the first women to hold a senior chair in the philosophy of science in the United Kingdom.
- How many quotes are attributed to Mary Hesse?
- There are 12 attributed quotations from Mary Hesse in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.