Motivating the History of the Philosophy of Thought Experiments

Abstract

The literature on thought experiments has been steadily expanding since 1986. And yet, it appears that several aspects of the philosophical conversation have recently stalled. We claim that the current philosophical literature has much to gain by a reappraisal of its origins: by identifying the historical contingencies that caused the contemporary discussion to take the shape it has, we will be in a better position to entertain other directions the current debate could go, identify and eliminate mistaken dogma, and revive forgotten insights. This special issue of HOPOS is an attempt to start such a conversation, and we hope it might inspire similar pursuits in the history of the philosophy of other scientific methods like modeling, experiment, and computer simulation.