Jason McKenzie Alexander, Johannes Himmelreich, Christopher Thompson

Philosophy of Science 82(3), 424–453, 2015

Abstract

This article examines two questions about scientists’ search for knowledge. First, which search strategies generate discoveries effectively? Second, is it advantageous to diversify search strategies? The article argues, pace Weisberg and Muldoon’s “Epistemic Landscapes and the Division of Cognitive Labor” (this journal, 2009), that a search strategy deliberately seeking novel research approaches need not be optimal. On the second question, the article argues that Weisberg and Muldoon have not shown epistemic reasons exist for the division of cognitive labor, identifying the errors that led to their conclusions. Furthermore, the article generalizes the epistemic landscape model, showing that one should be skeptical about the benefits of social learning in epistemically complex environments.