Innocence: A Second Idealization for Linguistics

Abstract

The nature of the fit between predictions generated by a theory and the phenomena within its domain can sometimes be assessed only when different sources of explanation can be isolated through one or more idealizations. One such idealization is the simplifying assumption, for the laws of Newtonian mechanics, that the physical bodies whose movements fall within their scope are (or can be treated as) dimensionless particles, not subject to distortion or friction. The empirical laws of elasticity and friction are themselves best formulated against this background idealization.