“A thought experiment (also known by the German term Gedankenexperiment) is a hypothetical scenario imagined to explore the consequences of a theory, principle, or idea when a real-world physical experiment is impossible, unethical, or impractical.” – Thought experiment
A **thought experiment**, known in German as Gedankenexperiment, is a hypothetical scenario imagined to explore the consequences of a theory, principle, or idea when conducting a real-world physical experiment is impossible, unethical, or impractical1,7. It involves using hypotheticals to logically reason out solutions to difficult questions, often simulating experimental processes through imagination alone1. These mental exercises are employed across disciplines, particularly philosophy and theoretical sciences, for purposes such as education, conceptual analysis, exploration, hypothesising, theory selection, and implementation2,7.
Thought experiments challenge beliefs, offer fresh perspectives, and examine abstract concepts imaginatively without real-world repercussions3. They construct extreme situations to reveal insights unavailable through formal logic or abstract reasoning, by generating mental models of scenarios and manipulating them via simulation2. Though sometimes circular or rhetorical to emphasise a point, they provide epistemic access to features of representations beyond propositional logic1,2.
Famous Examples
- Mary’s Room (Frank Jackson, 1982): A scientist, Mary, knows everything about colour physically from a black-and-white room but learns something new upon seeing red, questioning qualia and physicalism2,3,5.
- Chinese Room (John Searle, 1980s): A person follows rules to manipulate Chinese symbols without understanding them, arguing computers simulate but do not comprehend meaning2,4.
- Drowning Child (Peter Singer, 2009): Would you save a drowning child if it ruined your shoes? This highlights obligations to aid distant strangers2,3.
- Trolley Problem: Divert a trolley to kill one instead of five? Variations probe ethics of action vs. inaction6.
- Brain in a Vat: Your brain in a vat fed simulated experiences questions reality and knowledge4.
Best Related Strategy Theorist: Erwin Schrödinger
Among theorists linked to thought experiments, **Erwin Schrödinger** stands out for his iconic contribution in quantum mechanics, with a profound backstory tying his work to strategic scientific reasoning.
Born in 1887 in Vienna, Austria, Schrödinger was a physicist whose diverse interests spanned philosophy, biology, and Eastern mysticism. He studied at the University of Vienna, served in World War I, and held professorships in Zurich, Berlin (succeeding Planck), Oxford, Graz, and Dublin. Awarded the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physics (shared with Paul Dirac) for wave mechanics, he fled Nazi Germany in 1933 due to his opposition to antisemitism, despite his own complex personal life7. Schrödinger’s polymath nature influenced his interdisciplinary approach, later extending to genetics via his 1944 book What is Life?, inspiring DNA discoverers Watson and Crick.
His relationship to the thought experiment is epitomised by **Schrödinger’s Cat** (1935), devised to critique the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. Imagine a cat in a sealed box with a radioactive atom: if it decays (50% chance), poison releases, killing the cat. Quantum superposition implies the cat is simultaneously alive and dead until observed-a paradoxical Gedankenexperiment highlighting measurement problems and the absurdity of applying quantum rules macroscopically1,7. This strategic tool exposed flaws in prevailing theories, spurring debates on wave function collapse, many-worlds interpretation, and quantum reality. Schrödinger used it not to endorse but to provoke clearer strategies for quantum theory, cementing thought experiments’ role in scientific strategy7.
References
1. https://thedecisionlab.com/reference-guide/neuroscience/thought-experiments
2. https://www.missiontolearn.com/thought-experiments/
3. https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/seven-thought-experiments-thatll-make-you-question-everything/
4. https://www.toptenz.net/top-10-most-famous-thought-experiments.php
5. https://adarshbadri.me/philosophy/philosophical-thought-experiments/
6. https://guides.gccaz.edu/philosophy-guide/experiments
7. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/thought-experiment/
8. https://miamioh.edu/howe-center/hwac/disciplinary-writing-guides/philosophy/thought-experiments.html
