Lakatos' Research Programmes
Updated 2026-08-08
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Proposed by Imre Lakatos in the 1960s and 1970s as a middle path between Popper and Kuhn. A research programme consists of a hard core of assumptions that are not abandoned by methodological decision, surrounded by a protective belt of auxiliary hypotheses that can be modified to absorb anomalies. A programme is progressive when modifications predict new facts and degenerating when they only patch existing problems.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Find the core: identify what a theory will not give up, since that is what the argument actually defends - Watch the belt: distinguish productive extensions from patches that only absorb anomalies - Judge the trajectory: compare whether each programme is predicting new results or explaining away old ones
Anchor fast decisions
Anomalies never refute a programme outright, because the protective belt can always be adjusted. What separates progress from decline is whether those adjustments generate new predictions that later hold, or merely preserve the core from contradiction. Over time, a programme that keeps producing novel successful predictions attracts researchers, while a degenerating one loses them to a rival.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_programverified
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