PHI 531 Philosophy of Science

Realism and Antirealism

Fall 2002
Professor: Hans Halvorson
Meetings on Fridays, 10:00am-12:50pm

What is realism?

• van Fraassen, The Scientfic Image, pp. 1-13.
• Niiniluoto, Critical Scientific Realism, Ch. 1 ("Varieties of realism")
• Hellman, "Realist principles" Philosophy of Science 50 (1983) 227-249.

Instrumentalism and the theory-observation distinction

Main readings:

• Hempel, "The theoretician's dilemma" in H. Feigl et al. (eds.) Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 2 (1958).  [Also reprinted in Aspects of Scientific Explanation.]
• Maxwell, "The ontological status of theoretical entities" in H. Feigl and G. Maxwell (eds.),  Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 3 (1962): 3-27.
• van Fraassen, The Scientific Image, pp. 13-19.

Recommended reading:

• Psillos, Scientific Realism, Ch. 2 ("Theories as instruments?")
• Kukla, Studies in Scientific Realism, Ch. 8,9 ("The theory-observation distinction")

The miracle argument

Main readings:

• Putnam, Philosophical Papers, Vol. 1, p. 73.
• Smart, Philosophy and Scientific Realism, p. 39.
• Maxwell, "Theories, perception and structural realism," in Colodny (ed.), The Nature and Function of Scientific Theories (1970): pp. 11-12.
• Fine, "Unnatural attitudes: Realist and instrumentalist attachments to science" Mind 95 (1986): 149-179; see esp. 161.

Recommended reading:

• Boyd, "Realism, approximate truth, and philosophical method" in C. Savage (ed.) Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 14 (1990).  [Also reprinted in Papineau (ed.), The Philosophy of Science.]

Pessimistic metainduction

Main reading:

• Kitcher, The Advancement of Science, Ch.5 ("Realism and scientific progress").
• Psillos, Scientific Realism, Ch. 5 ("Resisting the pessimistic induction") [Optional: Ch. 6 ("Historical illustrations").]

Recommended reading:

• Laudan, "A confutation of convergent realism" Philosophy of Science 48 (1981): 19-49.
• Lange, "Baseball, pessimistic inductions and the turnover fallacy" Analysis 62 (2002): 281-285.

Structural realism

Main reading:

• Worrall, "Structural realism: The best of both worlds?" Dialectica 43 (1989): 99-124. [Also reprinted in Papineau, Philosophy of Science.]
• Ladyman, "What is structural realism?" Studies in History and Philosophy of Science 29 (1998): 409-424.

Recommended reading:

• Psillos, Scientific Realism, Ch. 7 ("Worrall's structural realism").
• Psillos, "Is structural realism possible?" Philosophy of Science 68 (2001): 3.

Underdetermination of theory by evidence

Main reading:

• Kukla, Studies in Scientific Realism, Ch. 5,6 ("Realism and underdetermination I,II")

Recommended reading:

• Earman, "Underdetermination, realism and reason" Midwest Studies in Philosophy 18 (1993): 19-38.
• van Fraassen, The Scientific Image, Ch. 3 ("To save the phenomena")
• Laudan and Leplin, "Empirical equivalence and underdetermination" Journal of Philosophy 88 (1991): 449-472.

Approximate truth

• Niiniluoto, Critical Scientific Realism, 3.5 ("Truthlikeness")
• Smith, Explaining Chaos, Ch. 5 ("Approximate truth")
• Psillos, Scientific Realism, Ch. 11 ("Truth-likeness")

Belief versus acceptance

Main reading:

• Blackburn, "Realism: Deconstructing the debate," Ratio 15 (2002): 111-133.
• Horwich, "On the nature and norms of theoretical commitment" Philosophy of Science 58 (1991): 1-14.
• Rosen, "What is constructive empiricism?" Philosophical Studies 74 (1994): 143-178.
• Sober, "Instrumentalism revisited" Two versions:  (1) Short version.  Proceedings of the 20th World Congress of Philosophy. (2) Long version. Critica. 

Recommended reading:

• Kukla, Studies in Scientific Realism, Ch. 8 ("The belief-acceptance distinction")

Reference failure and confusion

• Field, "Theory change and the indeterminacy of reference" Journal of Philosophy 70 (1973): 462-481.
• Earman and Fine, "Against indeterminacy" Journal of Philosophy 74 (1977): 535-538.
• Camp, Confusion.

Realism versus antirealism as a pseudo-question

• E. Nagel, Structure of Science.
• Psillos, "Carnap, the Ramsey sentence, and realistic empiricism" Erkenntnis 52 (2000): 253-279.
• Fine, The Shaky Game, Ch. 7 ("The natural ontological attitude")
• Fine, "Unnatural attitudes: Realist and instrumentalist attachments to science" Mind 95 (1986): 149-179.

The conjunction argument

• Putnam, "Explanation and reference," in Philosophical Papers, vol. 2.
• van Fraassen, The Scientific Image, pp. 83-87.
• Trout, "Theory conjunction and mercenary reliance," Philosophy of Science 59 (1992): 231-245.
• Kukla, Studies in Scientific Realism, pp. 29-31.