British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 71 (3):987-1012 (2020)
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Abstract |
Probably the most dramatic historical challenge to scientific realism concerns Arnold Sommerfeld’s derivation of the fine structure energy levels of hydrogen. Not only were his predictions good, he derived exactly the same formula that would later drop out of Dirac’s 1928 treatment. And yet the most central elements of Sommerfeld’s theory were not even approximately true: his derivation leans heavily on a classical approach to elliptical orbits, including the necessary adjustments to these orbits demanded by relativity. Even physicists call Sommerfeld’s success a ‘miracle’, which rather makes a joke of the so-called ‘no miracles argument’. However, this can all be turned around. Here I argue that the realist has a story to tell vis-à-vis the discontinuities between the old and the new theory, leading to a realist defence based on sufficient continuity of relevant structure. 1Introduction2No Realist Commitment Required?3Enter the Physicists4A New Approach to the Non-relativistic Success5Relativity and Spin6Structure and Realist Commitment7Conclusion
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DOI | 10.1093/bjps/axy035 |
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References found in this work BETA
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Understanding the Selective Realist Defence Against the PMI.Peter Vickers - 2017 - Synthese 194 (9):3221-3232.
What Elements of Successful Scientific Theories Are the Correct Targets for “Selective” Scientific Realism?Dean Peters - 2014 - Philosophy of Science 81 (3):377-397.
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Citations of this work BETA
Quantum ontology without speculation.Matthias Egg - 2021 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 11 (1):1-26.
The Physics and Metaphysics of Tychistic Bohmian Mechanics.Patrick Duerr & Alexander Ehmann - 2021 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 90:168-183.
Scientific Realism and Underdetermination in Quantum Theory.Matthias Egg & Juha Saatsi - 2021 - Philosophy Compass 16 (11):e12773.
The Historical Challenge to Realism and Essential Deployment.Mario Alai - forthcoming - In Contemporary Scientific Realism: The Challenge from the History of Science. Oxford University Press.
Resistance is Futile!: K. Brad Wray: Resisting Scientific Realism, Cambridge University Press, 2018, 224 Pp, $105 HB. [REVIEW]Steven French - 2020 - Metascience 29 (1):5-10.
View all 7 citations / Add more citations
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