I would like to get some ideas for this one (I'm learning English at the moment, so I have some
problems to tackle the question correctly).
What counts as an experiment? Can experiments be undertaken in human sciences or only in
'normal' sciences? Are there some necessary conditions for an activity to be an experiment, e.g.
hypotheses, data, manipulation of variables, observations, generalizations and expectations of
outcome?
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I cannot do better than repeat the entry from the Oxford Dictionary of Philosophyedited by Simon
Blackburn:
A controlled manipulation of events, designed to produce observations that confirm or disconfirm one
or more rival theories or hypotheses. To experiment is to put questions to nature, and the
experimental method is contrasted with the passive acceptance of whatever observations happen
along. The method is characteristic of modern natural science. However, a discipline (such as history)
may be pursued with greater or less objectivity and success without being able to avail itself of the
experimental method.