On the Place of the Singular in Knowledge

While 20th century epistemologists have asked in various ways whether a theory stands the test of facts or must be abandoned for another, we find ourselves more and more (probably because of the growth of computer usage) in the reverse situation where we have a lot of data and we lack a theory for understanding. It is this new interpretative entreprise we study here and whose importance we emphasize for the consideration of eventualities and threats. This is a new kind of scientific work that deviates from the positivist wake based on the discovery of laws.