Percy Williams Bridgman

Percy Williams Bridgman was an American physicist and Nobel laureate known for his work in experimental physics and his support of instrumentalism. Instrumentalism is a philosophical view that emphasizes the practical roles of scientific theories and models, suggesting that their value lies in their usefulness for predicting and controlling phenomena rather than in understanding their ultimate reality. Bridgman argued that scientific concepts should be linked to observable measurements, advocating for a pragmatic approach where theories serve as tools for experimentation rather than absolute truths, thus influencing the philosophy of science significantly throughout the 20th century.