Levels of Formalism
There are multiple levels of scientific formalism possible. At the lowest level, scientific formalism deals with the symbolic manner in which the information is presented. To achieve formalism in a scientific theory at this level, one starts with a well defined set of axioms, and from these follows a formal system.
However, at a higher level, scientific formalism also involves consideration of the axioms themselves. These can be viewed as questions of ontology. For example, one can, at the lower level of formalism, define a property called 'existence'. However, at the higher level, the question of whether an electron exists in the same sense that a bacterium exists still needs to be resolved.
Some actual formal theories on facts have been proposed.
Read more about this topic: Scientific Formalism
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