Seek_Equilibrium t1_j3em9ui wrote
Reply to comment by SubtlySubbing in For the émigré philosopher Imre Lakatos, science degenerates unless it is theoretically and experimentally progressive by ADefiniteDescription
> First of all a theory is the hypothesis with the most proof. It doesn’t mean it’s proven.
This is a bit of a bugbear of mine. A theory is not what a hypothesis graduates into when it collects enough evidence. Theories are broad explanatory frameworks. They incorporate and generate many hypotheses/predictions. Some are highly backed up by evidence (Darwinian evolutionary theory, general relativity, etc.) and some are discredited (lamarckian evolutionary theory, etc.), and still others are currently speculative and not yet decisively confirmed nor disconfirmed.
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