Concordance of Theoretical Termsy

Scientific theories often contain theoretical terms, such as “electron” and “proton”, that do not refer to observable entities or properties thereof. Within physics the concept of electron is used in theories about electric fields and magnetism. However, within chemistry, the electron is also used in thoeries to predict chemical properties and chemical reactions. While researchers have addressed some issues concerning the creation and integration of theoretical terms within logical theories, none have proposed formalisations of the concordance of a theoretical term across scientific fields. This paper will use the formal dynamic framework proposed by Kwok to define a concordance relation for actions which identify the same theoretical structure. This definition will be used to demonstrate how two different methods for sequencing deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) are concordant. Kwok has presented a blocks world example whereby the act of diagnosing the state of a theoretical term destroys the state. The concordance relation will be used to show how a non-destructive concordant action might be found.