Pierre Duhem - June 9th, 1861 - September 14th, 1916

By Jordanwhite1717

  • Pierre Duhem Overview

    Pierre Duhem was a renowned French Philosopher, physicist, and Historian. Pierre Duhem is known for many findings and contributions to developments in history and science, but I want to explain his accomplishments in the philosophy of science. His work on the relationship between theory and experiment, which contends that hypotheses are not categorically disproved by experiment and that there are no crucial experiments in science, is best recognized in the field of philosophy of science.

  • Thermodynamic Potential

    Pierre Duhem was in his 3rd year of higher education when he came out with his thesis for physics. However, due to politics, his thesis was denied by the panel. Another panel then looked at him due to unfairness and disagreement, and the new panel of experts in their respective fields finally accepted him. His thesis suggested that chemical changes tend spontaneously to produce maximum heat. His thesis ended up being highly respected by the French Scientific Establishment.

  • Pierre Duhem’s curriculum vitae

    Pierre Duhem wrote his curriculum vitae in 1913. His CV had over 350 items, and about 50 were books—most he wrote and some he respected. Pierre Duhem's main areas of research were in the field of science, mainly in the fields of thermodynamics and physical science. However, he published on elasticities and electromagnetism as far back as 1911. Despite Pierre Duhem's original inspiration, his history and philosophical work became integral to his life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVucw7wXRVI

  • Underdetermination of Scientific Theory

    Pierre Duhem believed that theories and hypotheses can only be subjected to empirical testing in groups or collections. Duhem states that one scientific hypothesis alone doesn’t tell us what to expect in nature; instead, we can draw empirical conclusions from it only when combined with many other theories and propositions. Therefore, when empirical predictions are wrong, we don’t know whether it’s because of the hypothesis or because of all the other beliefs and hypotheses we need.