Realism and intensional reference

Philosophy of Science 45 (3):445-455 (1978)
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Abstract

In The Structure of Scientific Inference, Mary Hesse has argued for a realist interpretation of science. Her realism, however, is not to be understood in the context of the traditional realist/instrumentalist debate within the philosophy of science. That debate focused on the question of whether or not science did anything other than systematize the empirical data given in our experience. The traditional realist answered “yes” and most frequently described the theoretical statements of science, not only as true, but also as providing descriptions of the world. The instrumentalist on the other hand answered “no” and ascribed no descriptive force to the theoretical statements of science. However, according to Hesse, neither party in the contemporary realism debate assumes the notion of an empirical given. Consequently, the present dispute must be understood as taking place on a level which is logically prior to its predecessor.

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Citations of this work

Scientific realism: The new debates.Edward MacKinnon - 1979 - Philosophy of Science 46 (4):501-532.
Minogue on intensional reference.Mary Hesse - 1980 - Philosophy of Science 47 (4):617-625.

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Seven Strictures on Similarity.Nelson Goodman - 2020 - Philosophia Scientiae 24:17-27.
Science and Subjectivity.Israel Scheffler - 1979 - Revue Philosophique de la France Et de l'Etranger 169 (1):119-123.

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