Causal Warrant for Realism about Particle Physics

Details

Ressource 1Download: BIB_F70823DFAC2E.P001.pdf (424.27 [Ko])
State: Public
Version: Author's accepted manuscript
Serval ID
serval:BIB_F70823DFAC2E
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Causal Warrant for Realism about Particle Physics
Journal
Journal for General Philosophy of Science
Author(s)
Egg M.
ISSN
0925-4560 (Print)
1572-8587 (Online)
ISSN-L
0044-2216
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2012
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
43
Number
2
Pages
259-280
Language
english
Notes
The final publication is available at http://link.springer.com
Abstract
While scientific realism generally assumes that successful scientific explanations yield information about reality, realists also have to admit that not all information acquired in this way is equally well warranted. Some versions of scientific realism do this by saying that explanatory posits with which we have established some kind of causal contact are better warranted than those that merely appear in theoretical hypotheses. I first explicate this distinction by considering some general criteria that permit us to distinguish causal warrant from theoretical warrant. I then apply these criteria to a specific case from particle physics, claiming that scientific realism has to incorporate the distinction between causal and theoretical warrant if it is to be an adequate stance in the philosophy of particle physics.
Keywords
Causal explanation, Entity realism, Inference to the best explanation, Neutrino, Particle physics, Scientific realism
Create date
17/09/2013 17:06
Last modification date
20/08/2019 17:23
Usage data