Scientific Realism: Overview Kareem Khalifa Department of Philosophy Middlebury College

Overview 1.What is Scientific Realism? 2.Arguments For Realism 3.Arguments Against Realism 4.Forms of Antirealism

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?

2.1. No Miracles Argument (NMA)

2.1. Objections to NMA

2.3.A. Explanationism

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  x  y(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. Underdetermination 3.2. Explanatory skepticism 3.3. Pessimistic Induction

3.1.

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.