English

Epistemological Distinctions Between Science and History

General Physics 2008-04-01 v1 History and Philosophy of Physics

Abstract

This article describes epistemological distinctions between science and history. Science investigates models of natural law using repeatable experiments as the ultimate arbiter. In contrast, history investigates past events by considering physical evidence, documentary evidence, and eyewitness testimony. Because questions of natural law are repeatably testable by any audience that exercises due experimental care, models of natural law are inherently more objective and testable with greater certainty than theories of past events.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0803.4245,
  title  = {Epistemological Distinctions Between Science and History},
  author = {Michael Courtney and Amy Courtney},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0803.4245},
  year   = {2008}
}

Comments

three pages

R2 v1 2026-06-21T10:25:38.675Z