THE SCIENTIFIC REALISM
Keywords:
Scientific realism. Observability. Ontological commitment. Emergentism. Perspectivism.Abstract
This paper argues for a criterion to distinguish reality from fiction based on perspectival emergentism. It discusses the criteria propound by Bas van Fraassen and Willard van Orman Quine, and the innovative contribution of Ronald Giere, whose perspectival realism aims to be an alternative both to naïve realism and the many sorts of constructivism and relativism. Giere’s perspectivism, concerning scientific concepts, models and theories is here extended to all abstract cultural objects, resulting in a bolder realism, though still perspectival as well.
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