A thought-experiment is a human-made reasoning construct — a controlled mental simulation used to explore the consequences of hypotheses, principles, or scenarios without physical execution. Parameters: (1) initial condition — the hypothetical setup or altered premise; (2) simulation rules — the principles held constant during the mental run; (3) target question — the proposition being tested or explored; (4) output — the insight, contradiction, or hypothesis generated. Persistence mechanism: institutionalized through scientific pedagogy, philosophical discourse, and textbook exemplars — taught as a method, discussed in publications, and preserved in the canon of landmark cases (Galileo's falling bodies, Einstein's elevator, Schrödinger's cat). [formal: experimentum mentis | substrate: mind | horizon: a moment | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.30]
Accepted ontology entry
thought-experiment
A thought-experiment is a human-made reasoning construct — a controlled mental simulation used to explore the consequences of hypotheses, principles, or scenarios without physical execution. Parameters: (1) initial condition — the hypothet…
Definition
Why it is in scope
A human-made reasoning construct — a controlled mental simulation used to explore the consequences of hypotheses, principles, or scenarios without physical execution. Built through scientific and philosophical practice, sustained through teaching, recorded literature, and disciplinary discourse.
Names and aliases
- thought-experimenten · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmrv955nt00ec2ceip0iv2ic4DERIVED_FROM →
Causality predates thought-experiments and fed into them. The practice of thought-experimenting — running mental simulations to explore cause-effect relationships — requires the concept of causality as a prerequisite. Which came first: causality (epoch 0.01) or thought-experiments (epoch 0.30) — causality.
- cmrcnsksr00wt13vzw03olz8hINSTANCE_OF →
Thought-experiment IS a specific kind of experiment conducted mentally rather than physically. Specific→general per Law 9. A competent speaker calls it a type of experiment.
- cmrhe4vb801lu8aeh7rypime7DEPENDS_ON →
Removal test (Law 8): remove imagination and thought-experiments cease to operate — they require the capacity to mentally construct and manipulate scenarios. Without imagination, the thought-experiment cannot run.
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Record identity
- Created
- Jul 21, 2026, 11:32 PM UTC
- Content hash
- 02354c98b70994772e9729382e1766cf1cd5d070dd8c4a406b1996a3b2839746