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Ian Hacking's Experimental Autonomy Route To Christian C. Emedolu, IJPR, 2020; 2:6 Review Article IJPR (2020) 2:6 International Journal of Philosophical Research (DOI:10.28933/IJOPR) Ian Hacking’s Experimental Autonomy Route to Scientific Realism and David B. Resnik’s Objection: a Critical Mediation Christian C. Emedolu, Ph.D Department of Philosophy, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria ABSTRACT Ian Hacking begins his defence of scientific realism with a prelim- Keywords: inary attempt to establish the autonomy of scientific experiment. Experimental Autonomy; Prima- He believes that if an independent life (free from the constraints of scientific theory) is granted to experimentation, then it will ease cy; Phenomenon; experimental the way to a robust defence of entity realism. Incidentally, several Manipulation; Theory-free critics have tried to pin down Hacking’s discourse of experimental/ entity realism as somewhat defective. In this paper I have chosen to react to one of such critics, namely, David B. Resnik. The basic aim here is to re-examine the core of Resnik’s argument against *Correspondence to Author: Hacking’s strand of scientific Realism. Resnik raises three major Christian C. Emedolu, Ph.D issues against Hacking. First, he says that Hacking’s experimental Department of Philosophy, Univer- realism is a version of “success of science argument”. Second, he sity of Port Harcourt, Nigeria maintains that belief in unobservable entities is tied to the belief in the truth or approximate truth of the scientific theories explaining or describing the characteristics of some such entities. Then, third, Resnik maintains that, “experimentation is not nearly as theory-free How to cite this article: as Hacking maintains”. Now, for the purposes of this paper, I took Christian C. Emedolu. Ian Hack- the first two criticisms of Resnik’s as less important and have ad- ing’s Experimental Autonomy Route dressed the third issue as most important and worthy of extensive consideration. I argue in this paper that Resnik’s third criticism is to Scientific Realism and David B. based on insufficient knowledge of Hacking’s two levels of argu- Resnik’s Objection: a Critical Medi- ment in defence of the autonomy of scientific experiment which is ation. International Journal of Philo- ultimately fathered on Resnik’s hermeneutical incapacity. I endorse sophical Research, 2020; 2:6. the view that Hacking completely failed to establish an indepen- dent life for experimentation by attempting to argue for its primacy at some historic episodes of scientific investigations. But, then, the debate continues with my argument that, Hacking’s second-tier argument, which has to do with creation of phenomenon in exper- imentation, is incontrovertible and provides, in the main, a suffi- cient basis for his Autonomy Thesis. Therefore, pace Resnik, the presence or non-presence of any definite scientific theory cannot eSciPub LLC, Houston, TX USA. be said to affect Hacking’s experimental realism, which ultimately Website: https://escipub.com/ focuses on the manipulation of unobservable entities. Given that this paper is purely qualitative and does not involve any empirical research, I adopted the method of textual analysis. https://escipub.com/international-journal-of-philosophical-research/ 1 Christian C. Emedolu, IJPR, 2020; 2:6 Introduction wrong should be seen as the very harbinger of novelty in this paper. Here, I shovel in a radical Scientific realism discourse has remained an charge that Resnik’s key rebuttal (i.e., the third arena of debate ever since Ernst Mach raised criticism) stems essentially from inadequate the problem of atomism in the late 19th century understanding of the very groundwork done by and the Logical Positivists got embroiled in it – Hacking in defence of the ontological status of with Moritz Schlick later confessing that the theoretical entities. Hacking fundamentally has a Vienna Circle members have long convinced dual-phased argument in his preliminary attempt themselves of the existence of atoms. Looking to defend the autonomy of scientific experiment at Ian Hacking’s discussions of experimental – which distinction Resnik fails to comprehend or realism as a doctrine in its own right, one tends take into any serious account. In my view, to perceive a virtually unassailable strand of Hacking adequately paves the royal route to scientific realism – one in need of almost no experimental realism by establishing the additional statement. The persuasive simplicity autonomy of scientific experiment at the level of of his argument is appealing, or so it seems to creation of phenomenon. To this end, my basic me. thesis or claim is that, since Hacking was able to By way of reconstruction, one could rightly say establish the autonomy of scientific experiment, that Hacking began his pursuit with the despite the meddlesomeness of theory, it is a establishment of the autonomy of scientific short to saying that, the actual existence of experiment at two levels, say, primacy and unobservable entities is perfectly demonstrable creation of phenomenon. At the level of primacy, within the purview of Hacking’s experimental he insists that sometimes experiment precedes realism discourse. theory. At the level of creation of phenomenon, Granting the foregoing submission, I consider it Hacking argues that sometimes certain appropriate, in what follows, to provide a brief phenomena/effects are created contrary to highlight on the issue of theory-dominance in some theoretical expectations. Hacking, scientific realism debate. This will be followed by ultimately, believes that in scientific experiment a presentation of Hacking’s two-prong real entities whose characteristics or causal arguments for the autonomy of experiment. attributes are already known are manipulated to More so, I shall look at the roles of experiment yield good results about some parts of nature. and Hacking’s central argument of experimental But some scholars have subjected Hacking’s manipulation of entities. Right after that, I shall experimental realism to serious criticism. In this offer a hardnosed rebuttal against Resnik’s paper, I shall pick one of them and subject his objections to Hacking’s experimental realism. minor and main objections against Hacking’s The paper eventually winds up with a experimental realism to a rigorous interrogation. conclusion. Despite the number of follies critics seemingly Recounting Some Skirmishes of Theory- found in Hacking’s experimental realism, it is my Dominance in Scientific Realism Debate aim in this present enterprise to make David Resnik take another look at his objections. This Hacking argues that the defence of scientific is to say that, my article is reducible to a direct realism position could be pursued from two basic textual analysis and reassessment of Resnik’s fronts, say, theory and experiment. Given the position against Hacking’s experimental realism. ugly experiences of the sponsors of theory It does not, in any way, involve empirical realism, Hacking believes that a more enduring verification of results. and strategic defence could be mounted from the perspective of experimental realism. He In point of fact, whatever it is that has been maintains that only the actual existence or identified as making Resnik’s argument go ontological status of unobservable entities can https://escipub.com/international-journal-of-philosophical-research/ 2 Christian C. Emedolu, IJPR, 2020; 2:6 be guaranteed in experimental realism applied evenly to study both scientific knowledge discourse. For Hacking, one can never sustain and other forms of knowledge. an exhaustive defence of all the contents of any In any case, most social constructivists tend to scientific theory; hence, he veers away from hinge their ultimate claim on the famous dispute theory realism. This is not to say that he does not between Robert Boyle and Thomas Hobbes, anticipate or appreciate the challenges wherein the latter argued that the Torricellian Air surrounding any worthy defence of scientific Pump produced no valid results. It produced realism from the point of view of artifacts and was incapable of grounding experimentation. scientific knowledge. For Hobbes, the reason is Hacking had to contend with the radicals, say, that both the construction and functioning of R.N. Hanson, T.S. Kuhn, P.K. Feyerabend and scientific instruments are governed by a set of Imre Lakatos who generally hold the view that theoretical assumptions – i.e., “theory-behind- theory is the summit of scientific investigation, so the-apparatus” (Kitcher 54). Bachelard, the much so that every scientific observation is leader of the continental Husserlian tradition of theory-laden. This implies that experimentation philosophy of science, has re-echoed Hobbes’s is so strategically tied to theorization to the idea in such popular quip as, “instruments are extent that it cannot be said to have a life of its reified theories”. This pervading theory- own. The autonomy of scientific experiment is dominance of scientific investigation remains a also interrogated by the social constructivists, daunting challenge to Hacking, precisely namely, Harry Collins, Bruno Latour, Karina because if theory is everything, then experiment Knorr-Cetina, and the rest. They are the off- has nothing to offer. shoots of the social implications of Anglo- Bas C. van Fraassen, who is a bona fide American Kuhnian doctrine, which has its link constructive empiricist, does not make light the with the continental tradition that stretches way issue when he categorically maintains that
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