Constructive Empiricism and Modal Nominalism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8399236 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bradley Monton, Bas C Van Fraassen |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 405-422 |
| Publication date | 2003-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-0882 • E-ISSN: 1464-3537 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjps/54.3.405 |
| OpenAlex | W2163417041 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 25 |
| References cited | 14 |
James Ladyman has argued that constructive empiricism entails modal realism, and that this renders constructive empiricism untenable. We maintain that constructive empiricism is compatible with modal nominalism. Although the central term ‘observable’ has been analyzed in terms of counterfactuals, and in general counterfactuals do not have objective truth conditions, the property of being observable is not a modal property, and hence there are objective, non‐modal facts about what is observable. Both modal nominalism and constructive empiricism require clarification in the face of Ladyman's argument. But we also argue that, even if Ladyman were right that constructive empiricism entails modal realism, this would not be a problem for constructive empiricism.1Introduction2Concerning (A) ‘The entire view is stated in modal discourse’3Concerning (B) ‘The central term “observable” is a modal term’3.1A devastating argument?3.2Critique of the argument4The objectivity of ‘observable’4.1A specific empirical question4.2Viewing ourselves as our own measuring instruments5Concerning (C) ‘Scientific theories involve irreducible modality’6Serious tension at the motivational level?
Argument (complex analysis) · Constructive · Counterfactual conditional · Counterfactual thinking · Empiricism · Epistemology · Modal · Nominalism · Observable · Physics · Computer Science · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Quantum Mechanics and Applications · Science and Climate Studies
A não-ciência de humanóides e golfinhos
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Can a Constructive Empiricist Adopt the Concept of Observability
Enquête et observation
Causal Inquiry in International Relations
Constructive Empiricism and Modal Metaphysics
Inference to the Best Explanation and van Fraassen’s Contextual Theory of Explanation
Expanding Observability via Human-Machine Cooperation
From Unobservable to Observable
Agency, Causation, and Empiricism
Sobre La Relación Entre Los Realismos Científico, Modal Y Nomológico
The Empirical Stance vs. The Critical Attitude
On the meaning and the epistemological relevance of the notion of a scientific phenomenon
The scientistic stance
Withering away, weakly
A modest defense of manifestationalism
Can the constructive empiricist be a nominalist? Quasi-truth, commitment and consistency
Conditions may apply
Is the Information-Theoretic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics an ontic structural realist view
Constructive empiricism, observability and three kinds of ontological commitment
Constructive Empiricism and the Metaphysics of Modality
The Deep Black Sea
Saving Unobservable Phenomena
O empirismo construtivo e o argumento de Musgrave
Current Bibliography of the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences 2004
Laws and Symmetry
"Relative State" Formulation of Quantum Mechanics
Sola Experientia? —Feyerabend's Refutation of Classical Empiricism
Should the Empiricist Be a Constructive Empiricist
Bertrand Russell Memorial Volume
What's Really Wrong with Constructive Empiricism? Van Fraassen and the Metaphysics of Modality
The scientific image
The Empirical Stance
| Unique citing works | 25 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,14 |
| Citation span | 2004 - 2024 (21) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 22 |