Allan David Franklin (born 1 August 1938,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

) is an American physicist,

historian of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal. Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...

, and

philosopher of science A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

. Franklin received in 1959 his bachelor's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and in 1965 his PhD in physics from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. He was from 1965 to 1966 a postdoc and from 1966 to 1967 an instructor at Princeton University. At the

University of Colorado Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado syst ...

he became in 1982 a full professor in physics, after having been there from 1967 to 1973 an assistant professor and from 1973 to 1982 an associate professor. At the beginning of his career he did research on

particle physics Particle physics or high energy physics is the study of fundamental particles and forces that constitute matter and radiation. The fundamental particles in the universe are classified in the Standard Model as fermions (matter particles) an ...

. Since the 1970s his research has dealt with the history and philosophy of science, in particular, the role of experiments in physics. He has done research on the history of experiments on parity violation, CP violation, neutrinos, and a possible fifth force, as well as the Millikan oil drop experiment and the relationship between theory and experiment in research on

weak interaction In nuclear physics and particle physics, the weak interaction, which is also often called the weak force or weak nuclear force, is one of the four known fundamental interactions, with the others being electromagnetism, the strong interaction, ...

s. As a philosopher, he dealt with the

Duhem–Quine thesis The Duhem–Quine thesis, also called the Duhem–Quine problem, after Pierre Duhem and Willard Van Orman Quine, is that in science it is impossible to experimentally test a scientific hypothesis in isolation, because an empirical test of the h ...

, the theory of

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

using

Bayesian statistics Bayesian statistics is a theory in the field of statistics based on the Bayesian interpretation of probability where probability expresses a ''degree of belief'' in an event. The degree of belief may be based on prior knowledge about the event, ...

, the corrigibility and reliability of experimental results, and the resolution of conflicting observations. In 2016 he received the

Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics The Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics is an award given each year since 2005 jointly by the American Physical Society and the American Institute of Physics for "''outstanding scholarly achievements in the history of physics''". The prize ...

. He was elected in 1988 a Fellow of

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

and was twice the chair of the Society's Forum for the History of Science. in 2000 he was a Miegunyah Distinguished Fellow at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

Selected publications

Articles

* ''What makes a 'good' experiment?'' In: ''British Journal for the Philosophy of Science'', vol. 32, 1981, pp. 367–374. * with C. Howson: ''Why Do Scientists Prefer to Vary Their Experiments?'' In: ''Studies in History and Philosophy of Science'', vol. 15, 1984, pp. 51–62. * with M. Andeerson, D. Brock, et al.: ''Can a theory-laden observation test the theory?'' In: ''British Journal for the Philosophy of Science'', vol. 40, 1989, pp. 229–231. * ''Discovery, Pursuit, and Justification.'' In: ''Perspectives on Science'', vol. 1, 1993, pp. 252–284. * ''How to Avoid the Experimenters’ Regress.'' In: ''Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science'', vol. 25, 1994, pp. 97–121. * ''Laws and Experiment.'' In F. Weiner (ed.): ''Laws of Nature.'' Walter de Gruyter, 1995, pp. 191–207. * ''Calibration.'' In: ''Perspectives on Science'', vol. 5, 1997, pp. 31–80. * ''Millikan´s Oil Drop Experiments.'' In: ''The Chemical Educator'', vol. 2, no. 1, 1997. * ''Doing much about nothing.'' In: ''Archive for History of Exact Sciences'', vol. 58, 2004, pp. 323–379 (on experiments with null results such as the

Michelson–Morley experiment The Michelson–Morley experiment was an attempt to detect the existence of the luminiferous aether, a supposed medium permeating space that was thought to be the carrier of light waves. The experiment was performed between April and July 1887 ...

). * ''Discovery and Acceptance of CP Violation.'' In: ''Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences'', vol. 13, 1983, pp. 207–238 * ''The appearance and disappearance of the 17-keV neutrino.'' In: ''Review of Modern Physics'', vol. 67, 1995, pp. 457–490. * ''The resolution of discordant results.'' In: ''Perspectives on Science'', vol. 3, 1995, pp. 346–420.

Books

* ''The Neglect of Experiment.'' Cambridge University Press, 1986 (discusses experiments on CP violation and Millikan's oil drop experiments, which Franklink defends against

Gerald Holton Gerald James Holton (born May 23, 1922) is an American physicist, historian of science, and educator, whose professional interests also include philosophy of science and the fostering of careers of young men and women. He is Mallinckrodt Profes ...

's criticism).
''Experiment. Right or wrong.''
Cambridge University Press, 1990. * ''The Rise and Fall of the Fifth Force: Discovery, Pursuit, and Justification in Modern Physics.'' American Institute of Physics, 1993. * ''Are There Really Neutrinos? An Evidential History.'' Perseus Books, 2000. * ''Selectivity and Discord: two problems of experiments.'' University of Pittsburgh Press, 2002. * ''Shifting Standards: Experiments in Particle Physics in the Twentieth Century.'' University of Pittsburgh Press, 2013. * ''What Makes a Good Experiment? Reasons and Role in Science.'' University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015. * ''Experiment in Physics.'' In: ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', 1998, revised 2015
online
. *as editor with

Jed Z. Buchwald Jed Z. Buchwald is Doris and Henry Dreyfuss Professor of History at Caltech. He was previously director of the Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology at MIT. He won a MacArthur Fellowship in 1995 and was elected to the American ...

: ''Wrong for the right reasons.'' (= ''Archimedes.'' vol. 11). Springer, 2005 (containing Franklin's article ''The Konopinski-Uhlenbeck theory of beta decay: its proposal and refutation''). * ''Can that be right? Essays on experiment, evidence and science'' (''Boston studies in the philosophy of science''). Springer, 1999 (collection of essays by Franklin). * with A. W. F. Edwards et al.
''Ending the Mendel-Fisher controversy.''
Pittsburgh University Press, 2008.

References

External links

Oral history interview transcript with Allan Franklin on 12 May 2020, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Allan 1938 births Living people Columbia College (New York) alumni Cornell University alumni University of Colorado Boulder faculty 20th-century American physicists 21st-century American physicists Historians of science Fellows of the American Physical Society