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Thought experiment

A thought experiment is a hypothetical situation in which a hypothesis, theory,[a] or principle is laid out for the purpose of thinking through its consequences. The concept is also referred to using the German-language term Gedankenexperiment within the work of the physicist Ernst Mach[2] and includes thoughts about what may have occurred if a different course of action were taken.[3][4] The importance of this ability is that it allows the experimenter to imagine what may occur in the future, as well as the implications of alternate courses of action.[5][6]

challenge (or even refute) a prevailing theory, often involving the device known as , (as in Galileo's original argument, a proof by contradiction),

reductio ad absurdum

confirm a prevailing theory,

establish a new theory, or

simultaneously refute a prevailing theory and establish a new theory through a process of

mutual exclusion

Antefactual speculations: experiments that speculate about what might have happened prior to a specific, designated event, or

Postfactual speculations: experiments that speculate about what may happen subsequent to (or consequent upon) a specific, designated event.

Levinthal paradox

Rotating locomotion in living systems

at PhilPapers

Thought experiment

at the Indiana Philosophy Ontology Project

Thought experiment

Short essay by S. Abbas Raza of 3 Quarks Daily

Stevinus, Galileo, and Thought Experiments

a visual aid to running your own thought experiment

Thought experiment generator