论思想实验与物质实验的本质区别

On the essential difference between thought experiments and physical experiments

思想实验与物质实验同属于实验的范畴,有着相同的构成要素,相同的存在价值。在思想实验与物质实验的关系上,索伦森和麦卡利斯特认为它们在本质上是相同的,但波普尔和诺顿认为它们仅有部分相同,而马赫、库恩、布朗等人却认为它们完全不同。通过细致的比较研究可发现,二者在构成要素上总体相似,但两类实验在起点、现象以及实验的代表性等方面颇具差异性,存在着本质的区别。

In general, thought experiments and physical experiments belong to the same category of experiments. They have the same elements and the same value of existence. However, in the comparison between thought experiments and physical experiments, Sorensen and Mc Allister think that they are essentially the same, but Popper and Norton believe that they are partly the same, and Mach, kuhn, Brown content that they are completely different. Through careful comparative studies, we can find that they both have the same elements, but there are manifest differences in the starting point, the phenomenon, the links between the experimental results and the conclusions and the representation.