Scientific Realism: Overview

Kareem KhalifaDepartment of Philosophy

Middlebury College

Overview

1. What is Scientific Realism?2. Arguments For Realism3. Arguments Against Realism4. Forms of Antirealism

1.1. What is it?

1.1. Achievements vs. Aims1.2. Dimensions of Realism1.3. Variations of Realism

1.1. Achievements vs. Aims

A. Minimal RealismB. Achievement

C. Aspirational

1.2. Dimensions of Scientific Realism

A. MetaphysicalB. SemanticC. Epistemological

In-Class Exercise

• Let full-blown realism be the conjunction of the achievement (which entails minimal and aspirational) conception, metaphysical, semantic, and epistemological realism.

• Can you think of different kinds of realism that are not full-blown?

• Are any of these four dimensions necessary for all forms of realism?

1.3. Variations

A. General RecipeB. What does it mean for a theory to be the

best?C. What does it mean for a theory to be

“approximately true”?D. About what parts of our theories should we

be realists?

2. Arguments for Realism

2.1. No Miracles Argument2.2. Corroboration

2.3. Selective Optimism

2.1. No Miracles Argument (NMA)

1. Scientific theories are empirically successful.

2. The approximate truth best explains why they are empirically successful.[probably]

3. Scientific theories are approximately true.

2.1. Objections to NMA

• Demands for explanation• Circularity

• Base-Rate Fallacy

2.2. Corroboration

2.3. Selective Optimism

1. Explanationist2. Entity Realist3. Structural Realist

2.3.A. Explanationism

a. Theory T makes the novel prediction P.

b. C is the part of T that is essential for predicting P.[probably]

c. C is approximately true (even if the rest of T is false.)

2.3.B. Entity Realism

a. Theory T posits entity e.b. Manipulating e reliably brings

about detectable changes.c. If manipulating entity e reliably

brings about detectable changes, then e exists.

d. Entity e exists (even if most of T’s descriptions of e are false.)

2.3.C. Structural Realism

• Let f(x,y) = a be an equation that figures in one of our best theories T.

• Structural realists claim that we know xy(f(x,y) = a), but we don’t know any of the non-relational properties (“natures”) of x an y.

• Roughly, this means that we should believe that the equation is true, but we need not trust the interpretations of that equation.

3. Arguments Against Realism

3.1. Underdetermination3.2. Explanatory skepticism3.3. Pessimistic Induction

3.1.

3.2. Skepticism about IBE

3.3. Pessimistic Induction

1. Every past theory has turned out to be false.[probably]

2. So our current theories will turn out to be false.

4. Kinds of Antirealism

4.1. Empiricism4.2.Historicism

4.3. Social Constructivism4.4. Feminism

4.5. Pragmatism

Recap

• There are several arguments both for and against realism

• There are several kinds of realism and antirealism

• Which one works for you?