Generative and Demonstrative Experiments

摘要: Current scientific practice is often identified with the experimental framework. Yet, what “experimenting” means could be less than perfectly clear. Going beyond common sense conception of experiment, two broad categories experiments can tentatively identified: generative experiment and demonstrative experiment. While former aims at generating new knowledge, corroborations hypotheses etc., latter—which actually kind most laypeople came to terms in their lives—is designed so that, by being successful, it reverberates knowledge on experimenters/witnesses, thus instructing them, albeit outcome was well known beforehand. Prima facie uninformed observer may not always able tell whether an or demonstrative, therefore existing distinction must rely something else, namely framework they are embedded into. The concept epistemic warfare, recently introduced Magnani, help investigating this distinction, also scope showing that a sterile dichotomy but rather theoretically fruitful continuum, analysis epistemically relevant issues such as repetition/replication potential failure.