Aesthetic and Other Theoretical Virtues in Science

Abstract

Here I first provide an introduction to a neglected topic in contemporary aesthetics: intellectual beauty. Then I review James McAllister’s critique of autonomism and reductionism regarding the relation between empirical and aesthetic criteria in scientific theory evaluation. Finally, I critique McAllister’s “aesthetic induction,” and defend an alternative model that emphasizes the holistic coherence of aesthetic and other theoretical virtues in scientific theorizing.