Realism vs. Anti-Realism 2: Arguments Concerning Scientific Realism by Bas Van Fraassen

Notes and Thoughts on Arguments Concerning Scientific RealismSummarizing quote: “The rigour of science requires that we distinguish well the undraped figure of nature itself from the gay-coloured (heh!heh!he said “gay”) vesture with which we clothe it at our pleasure.”–Heinrich Hertz quoted by Ludwig Boltzmann, in turn quoted by Van Fraassen, in turn quoted by me.PreambleIn […]

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Realism vs Anti-Realism: Ontological Status of Theoretical Entities by Maxwell

Notes and Thoughts on “The Ontological Status of Theoretical Entities” by Grover MaxwellPreambleOne of the big debates in philosophy of science is between realists and anti-realist.  Although there are many types of each, generally speaking we can say that realists think that our theories describe real entities while the anti-realist don’t.   Here’s an example […]

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