The answer is “no”. However, compare with Darwin. His method was also “observing and creating models that fit observations”. (He also got some things wrong: AFAIK he assumed that all traits are continuously divisible; genes were discovered by Mendel later. But generally, his success ratio was much better. But also his field was much saner.)
Also, Freud did some kind of experiments. He was not merely a philosopher, he also cured people, and it seemed to him that his theories work. But he didn’t have a control group, etc.
I could be wrong, but didn’t Darwin actually formulate some hypotheses, and then go out there and count finches (and other things) to see if his predictions were true ? I think that’s why his success rate was so much better (though, admittedly, not perfect): he conducted experiments in the real world, using real math.
Also, Freud did some kind of experiments. He was not merely a philosopher, he also cured people, and it seemed to him that his theories work. But he didn’t have a control group, etc.
How did he know if his theories actually worked, then ? Was he even making his patients better in any way (as compared to other patients who saw other doctors, or perhaps no doctors at all) ?
He was convinced that “couch therapy” worked better than hypnosis, but I don’t know whether he kept records to prove it.
(Sorry, I have read all this decades ago, and then I was interested in his models of mind, not in technical details. Now I know that those details are critical, but I don’t remember whether I read about them or not.)
The answer is “no”. However, compare with Darwin. His method was also “observing and creating models that fit observations”. (He also got some things wrong: AFAIK he assumed that all traits are continuously divisible; genes were discovered by Mendel later. But generally, his success ratio was much better. But also his field was much saner.)
Also, Freud did some kind of experiments. He was not merely a philosopher, he also cured people, and it seemed to him that his theories work. But he didn’t have a control group, etc.
I could be wrong, but didn’t Darwin actually formulate some hypotheses, and then go out there and count finches (and other things) to see if his predictions were true ? I think that’s why his success rate was so much better (though, admittedly, not perfect): he conducted experiments in the real world, using real math.
How did he know if his theories actually worked, then ? Was he even making his patients better in any way (as compared to other patients who saw other doctors, or perhaps no doctors at all) ?
He was convinced that “couch therapy” worked better than hypnosis, but I don’t know whether he kept records to prove it.
(Sorry, I have read all this decades ago, and then I was interested in his models of mind, not in technical details. Now I know that those details are critical, but I don’t remember whether I read about them or not.)