Appraise an amendment as progressive, degenerating, or neutral — tf_appraise

Compares an amended theory new against its prior version and returns a Lakatosian verdict.

Usage

tf_appraise_amendment(new, prior)

Arguments

new: The amended theory object (named list).
prior: The prior theory object (named list).

Value

A named list with verdict (one of "progressive", "degenerating", "neutral") and the ascending-sorted character vectors new_predictions, corroborated_new, ad_hoc_assumptions.

References

Lakatos, I. (1970). Falsification and the methodology of scientific research programmes. In Criticism and the growth of knowledge (pp. 91-196). Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/cbo9781139171434.009

Meehl, P. E. (1990). Appraising and amending theories. Psychological Inquiry, 1(2), 108-141. doi:10.1207/s15327965pli0102_1

Examples

prior <- tf_theory("demo-1", "A demonstration theory") |>
  tf_add_prediction("h1", "Effect is positive.", "directional")
new <- prior |>
  tf_add_prediction("h2", "Effect is exactly 0.30.", "point")
new$test_outcomes <- list(list(prediction_id = "h2", passed = TRUE))
tf_appraise_amendment(new, prior)
#> $verdict
#> [1] "progressive"
#> 
#> $new_predictions
#> [1] "h2"
#> 
#> $corroborated_new
#> [1] "h2"
#> 
#> $ad_hoc_assumptions
#> character(0)
#>