仮説 and 理論: Explanations and their evidence
Compare a hypothesis based on observations, a proposed check, and theories with different states of support. Separate what an explanation is called from what the sentence actually reports about evidence.
A hypothesis based on observations
A hypothesis is an explanation proposed for what has been observed. When comparing it with a theory, look at the observations, experiments, and evidence stated in the sentence as well as the name of the explanation.
「観察結果を基に新しい仮説を立てた。」 (We formed a new hypothesis based on the observations.) This reports forming a hypothesis on the basis of observations. Being based on observations does not establish that the new hypothesis has already been verified.
A theory's support must also be read
The theory examples describe different situations: a theory learned in a lecture was checked with a simple experiment, while another interesting theory still lacks sufficient evidence. They do not describe successive stages of one explanation.
「彼の理論は興味深いものの、まだ十分な証拠がありません。」 (His theory is interesting, but it still lacks sufficient evidence.) Keep both the favorable assessment and the limitation on evidence. Insufficient evidence does not itself amount to a final finding that the theory is false.
A proposal to check is not a completed check
「その仮説が正しいか、追加の実験で確かめよう。」 (Let us conduct another experiment to see whether the hypothesis is correct.) 「確かめよう」 proposes checking whether the hypothesis is correct. It does not report that the additional experiment has been completed or the hypothesis accepted.
Do not impose a sequence in which a hypothesis is always false and a theory is always fully proved. Distinguish forming an explanation, proposing a check, conducting a check, and still lacking evidence in their separate sentences.
Do forming a hypothesis from observations and proposing an additional experiment mean that the hypothesis has already been verified?
Show the answer and why
No. The first example reports forming a hypothesis, and the second proposes checking whether it is correct. The name 理論 also does not guarantee completed verification: a separate theory example explicitly says that sufficient evidence is still lacking.