Summary |
Scientific
semi-realism is a form of selective scientific realism that incorporates
insights from entity and structural realism. Developed by Anjan Chakravartty,
this position defends realism about detection properties of entities and their
causal structures, while allowing for non-causal properties to be lost in
theory change. Semi-realism builds on insights from entity realism, according to
which we have good grounds to believe in the existence of unobservable entities
with which we have established causal contact. Unlike entity realism, however,
semi-realism does not claim that realism does not entail commitment to the
theoretical description of an entity. By distinguishing between detection properties
and auxiliary properties, Chakravartty claims that it is through detection
properties that we causally detect unobservable entities and thus should be
realist about what our theories tell us about these detection properties, while
remaining agnostic towards auxiliary properties. Like structural realism,
semi-realism holds that it is the mathematical equations – the structural
content – of a theory that survives theory change. However, in addition,
semi-realism holds that the interpretation of theoretical terms associated detection
properties are also preserved.
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