?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=On+the+Inherent+Incompleteness+of+Scientific+Theories&rft.creator=Mathen%2C+Jolly&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Mind&rft.subject=Philosophy+of+Science&rft.description=We+examine+the+question+of+whether+scientific+theories+can+ever+be+complete.+For+two+closely+related+reasons%2C+we+will+argue+that+they+cannot.+The+first+reason+is+the+inability+to+determine+what+are+%E2%80%9Cvalid+empirical+observations%E2%80%9D%2C+a+result+that+is+based+on+a+self-reference+G%C3%B6del%2FTarski-like+proof.+The+second+reason+is+the+existence+of+%E2%80%9Cmeta-empirical%E2%80%9D+evidence+of+the+inherent+incompleteness+of+observations.+These+reasons%2C+along+with+theoretical+incompleteness%2C+are+intimately+connected+to+the+notion+of+belief+and+to+theses+within+the+philosophy+of+science%3A+the+Quine-Duhem+(and+underdetermination)+thesis+and+the+observational%2Ftheoretical+distinction+failure.+Some+puzzling+aspects+of+the+philosophical+theses+will+become+clearer+in+light+of+these+connections.+Other+results+that+follow+are%3A+no+absolute+measure+of+the+informational+content+of+empirical+data%2C+no+absolute+measure+of+the+entropy+of+physical+systems%2C+and+no+complete+computer+simulation+of+the+natural+world+are+possible.+The+connections+with+the+mathematical+theorems+of+G%C3%B6del+and+Tarski+reveal+the+existence+of+other+connections+between+scientific+and+mathematical+incompleteness%3A+computational+irreducibility%2C+complexity%2C+infinity%2C+arbitrariness+and+self-reference.+Finally%2C+suggestions+will+be+offered+of+where+a+more+rigorous+(or+formal)+%E2%80%9Cproof%E2%80%9D+of+scientific+incompleteness+can+be+found.&rft.date=2005-05&rft.type=Other&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F4356%2F1%2FUC586bf.pdf&rft.identifier=++Mathen%2C+Jolly++(2005)+On+the+Inherent+Incompleteness+of+Scientific+Theories.+++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F4356%2F