The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Realism
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THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF SCIENTIFIC REALISM Scientific realism is a central, long-standing, and hotly debated topic in philosophy of science. Debates about scientific realism concern the very nature and extent of scientific knowledge and progress. Scientific realists defend a positive epistemic attitude towards our best theories and models regarding how they represent the world that is unobservable to our naked senses. Various realist theses are under sceptical fire from scientific antirealists, e.g. empiricists and instrumentalists. The different dimensions of the ensuing debate centrally connect to numerous other topics in philosophy of science and beyond. The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Realism is an outstanding reference source – the first collection of its kind – to the key issues, positions, and arguments in this important topic. Its thirty-four chapters, written by a team of international experts, are divided into five parts: • Historical development of the realist stance • Classic debate: core issues and positions • Perspectives on contemporary debates • The realism debate in disciplinary context • Broader reflections In these sections, the core issues and debates are presented, analysed, and set into broader historical and disciplinary contexts. The central issues covered include motivations and arguments for realism; challenges to realism from underdetermination and history of science; different variants of realism; the connection of realism to relativism and perspectivism; and the relationship between realism, metaphysics, and epistemology. The Routledge Handbook of Scientific Realism is essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy of science. It will also be very useful for anyone interested in the nature and extent of scientific knowledge. Juha Saatsi is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science, University of Leeds, UK. ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOKS IN PHILOSOPHY Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy are state-of-the-art surveys of emerging, newly refreshed, and important fields in philosophy, providing accessible yet thorough assessments of key problems, themes, thinkers, and recent developments in research. All chapters for each volume are specially commissioned and written by leading scholars in the field. Carefully edited and organized, Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy provide indispensa- ble reference tools for students and researchers seeking a comprehensive overview of new and exciting topics in philosophy. They are also valuable teaching resources as accompaniments to textbooks, anthologies, and research-orientated publications. Recently published The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy of Pain Edited by Jennifer Corns The Routledge Handbook of Mechanisms and Mechanical Philosophy Edited by Stuart Glennan and Phyllis Illari The Routledge Handbook of Metaethics Edited by Tristram McPherson and David Plunkett The Routledge Handbook of Evolution and Philosophy Edited by Richard Joyce The Routledge Handbook of Libertarianism Edited by Jason Brennan, Bas van der Vossen, and David Schmidtz The Routledge Handbook of Collective Intentionality Edited by Marija Jankovic and Kirk Ludwig The Routledge Handbook of Pacifism and Nonviolence Edited by Andrew Fiala For a full list of published Routledge Handbooks in Philosophy, please visit www.routledge. com/Routledge-Handbooks-in-Philosophy/book-series/RHP THE ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF SCIENTIFIC REALISM Edited by Juha Saatsi First published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 selection and editorial matter, Juha Saatsi; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Juha Saatsi to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Saatsi, Juha, editor. Title: The Routledge handbook of scientific realism / edited by Juha Saatsi. Other titles: Handbook of scientific realism Description: New York : Routledge, 2017. | Series: Routledge handbooks in philosophy | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017032031| ISBN 9781138888852 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780203712498 (e-book) Subjects: LCSH: Science—Philosophy. | Realism. Classification: LCC Q175.32.R42 R68 2017 | DDC 501—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017032031 ISBN: 978-1-138-88885-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-71249-8 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Apex CoVantage, LLC CONTENTS List of contributors ix Introduction: scientific realism in the 21st century 1 Juha Saatsi PART I Historical development of the realist stance 5 1 Realism and logical empiricism 7 Matthias Neuber 2 The realist turn in the philosophy of science 20 Stathis Psillos PART II Classic debate: core issues and positions 35 3 Success of science as a motivation for realism 37 K. Brad Wray 4 Historical challenges to realism 48 Peter Vickers 5 Underdetermination 60 Dana Tulodziecki 6 Kuhn, relativism and realism 72 Howard Sankey v Contents 7 Instrumentalism 84 Darrell P. Rowbottom 8 Empiricism 96 Otávio Bueno 9 Structural realism and its variants 108 Ioannis Votsis 10 Entity realism 120 Matthias Egg 11 Truthlikeness and approximate truth 133 Gerhard Schurz PART III Perspectives on contemporary debates 149 12 Global versus local arguments for realism 151 Leah Henderson 13 Perspectivism 164 Michela Massimi 14 Is pluralism compatible with scientific realism? 176 Hasok Chang 15 Scientific progress 187 Ilkka Niiniluoto 16 Realism and the limits of explanatory reasoning 200 Juha Saatsi 17 Unconceived alternatives and the Strategy of Historical Ostension 212 P. Kyle Stanford 18 Realism, antirealism, epistemic stances, and voluntarism 225 Anjan Chakravartty 19 Modeling and realism: strange bedfellows? 237 Arnon Levy vi Contents 20 Success and scientific realism: considerations from the philosophy of simulation 250 Eric Winsberg and Ali Mirza 21 Scientific realism and social epistemology 261 Martin Kusch PART IV The realism debate in disciplinary context 277 22 Scientific realism and high-energy physics 279 Richard Dawid 23 Getting real about quantum mechanics 291 Laura Ruetsche 24 Scientific realism and primordial cosmology 304 Feraz Azhar and Jeremy Butterfield 25 Three kinds of realism about historical science 321 Derek Turner 26 Scientific realism and the earth sciences 333 Teru Miyake 27 Scientific realism and chemistry 345 Paul Needham 28 Realism about cognitive science 357 Mark Sprevak 29 Scientific realism and economics 369 Harold Kincaid PART V Broader reflections 381 30 Realism and theories of truth 383 Jamin Asay 31 Realism and metaphysics 394 Steven French vii Contents 32 Mathematical realism and naturalism 407 Mary Leng 33 Scientific realism and epistemology 419 Alexander Bird 34 Natural kinds for the scientific realist 434 Matthew H. Slater Index 447 viii CONTRIBUTORS Jamin Asay is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong. He works in metaphysics, philosophy of language, and philosophy of science, focusing on the topics of truth and truthmaking. He is the author of The Primitivist Theory of Truth (2013). Feraz Azhar is a philosopher of cosmology at Trinity College, Cambridge, UK. He has a PhD in theoretical physics and will, from 2017, be at Harvard University. Alexander Bird is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bristol. He is the author of Philosophy of Science (2nd ed., 2005), Thomas Kuhn (2000), and Nature’s Metaphysics (2007). His research interests include Kuhn, naturalism, epistemology, and the metaphysics of science. Otávio Bueno is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department at the Uni- versity of Miami. He works in philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of logic, metaphysics, and epistemology. His latest book is Applying Mathematics: Immersion, Inference, Interpretation (with Steven French, OUP, forthcoming). Jeremy Butterfield is a Senior Research Fellow in philosophy of physics at Trinity College, Cambridge, UK. Anjan Chakravartty is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values at the University of Notre Dame, and Editor in Chief of Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. He is the author of A Metaphysics for Scientific Realism: Knowing the Unobservable (2007) and Scientific Ontology: Integrating Naturalized Metaphysics and Voluntarist Epistemology (2017). Hasok Chang is the Hans Rausing Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. He received his degrees from Caltech and Stanford and has taught at University College London. He is the author of Is Water H2O? Evidence, Realism and Pluralism (2012)