Decision Theory and Scientific Method
{'Code': '08080301', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'DBI', 'LongName': 'Div Of Biological Infrastructure'}}
{'SignBlockName': 'Alicia Armstrong', 'PO_EMAI': 'aarmstro@nsf.gov', 'PO_PHON': '7032924743'}
To what extent is science a rational activity?  Why are scientific              theories accepted at one time and then replaced by another theory at            another time?  Why is theory change justified?  What is the                     difference between science and pseudoscience?  What, in fact, is the            aim of science?  These questions are at the heart of the philosophy             of science.  Increasingly, however, these questions are no longer the           exclusive concern of scientists, science policy makers, and                     historians and philosophers of science.  They are being argued in               churches, school boards, and even in federal court rooms as new                 challenges like "Creationism" attack the traditional teaching of                science.  Dr. Maher is undertaking a major study of these issues in             order to determine how decision theory can be used to make progress             on these questions.  In his study, he will examine critically the               very influential views of Karl Popper and Thomas Kuhn on scientific             change.  This critique will involve a new representation theorem for            probabilities and utilities and will offer new explanations of                  features of scientific method such as the importance of prediction as           opposed to mere accommodation of evidence and the value of simplicity           and unity in theories.  He will show that a notion of acceptance                which is not reducible to probability is needed to account for                  central features of scientific method such as the gathering of                  evidence and the search for explanations.  He will also show that               this notion of acceptance provides the basis for an account of the              role of values in science. This notion will be used in particular to            give precise meaning to the idea of science is to try to determine              the truth about the nature of the physical world.  This study is of             great importance not only for philosophy of science but also for                assistance in the wider arena in which these issues are now debated.
{'FirstName': 'Patrick', 'LastName': 'Maher', 'PI_MID_INIT': None, 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Patrick Maher', 'EmailAddress': 'p-maher@uiuc.edu', 'NSF_ID': '000209828', 'StartDate': '09/01/1987', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}
{'Name': 'University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign', 'CityName': 'URBANA', 'ZipCode': '618013620', 'PhoneNumber': '2173332187', 'StreetAddress': '506 S WRIGHT ST', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Illinois', 'StateCode': 'IL', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '13', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'IL13', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'Y8CWNJRCNN91', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
{'Name': None, 'CityName': None, 'StateCode': None, 'ZipCode': None, 'StreetAddress': None, 'CountryCode': None, 'CountryName': None, 'StateName': None, 'CountryFlag': None, 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': None, 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_PERF': '""'}
{'Code': '1353', 'Text': 'Hist & Philosophy of SET'}
{'url': 'https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/download?DownloadFileName=1987&All=true', 'xml': '8708168.xml'}