Experimentalism

Experimentalism is the philosophical belief that the way to truth is through experiments and empiricism. It is also associated with instrumentalism, the belief that truth should be evaluated based upon its demonstrated usefulness. Deborah Mayo suggests that we should focus on how experimental knowledge is actually arrived at and how it functions in science. Mayo also suggests that the reason New Experimentalists have come up short, is that the part of experiments that have the most to offer in building an account of inference and evidence that are left untapped: designing, generating, modelling and analysing experiments and data.

Less formally, artists often pursue their visions through trial and error; this form of experimentalism has been practiced in every field, from music to film and from literature to theatre.

See also

• Neo-experimentalism
• Experimental philosophy