Allzén, Simon (2021) From Unobservable to Observable: Entity Change and Scientific Realism. [Preprint]

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Abstract

I explore the process of conceptual changes of entities and objects in science and how such changes impacts two key issues in the scientific realism debate: the claim that predictively successful elements of past science is retained in current scientific theories, and the inductive defense of a specific version of inference to the best explanation with respect to unobservables. I provide a case-study of the discovery of radium by Marie Curie in order to show that the status of an entity can undergo conceptual changes with respect to its observability and that such changes are relevant for arguments seeking to establish the reliability of success-to-truth inferences with respect to unobservables.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Allzén, Simon simon.allzen@philosophy.su.se 0000-0002-6124-8152
Keywords:	Scientific realism; Inference to the best explanation; Theory change; Empiricism
Subjects:	General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Theory Change General Issues > Theory/Observation
Depositing User:	Dr Simon Allzén
Date Deposited:	13 Mar 2021 00:05
Last Modified:	13 Mar 2021 00:05
Item ID:	18807
Subjects:	General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Theory Change General Issues > Theory/Observation
Date:	12 March 2021
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/18807

Available Versions of this Item

• From Unobservable to Observable: Entity Change and Scientific Realism. (deposited 13 Mar 2021 00:05) [Currently Displayed]
  • From Unobservable to Observable: Scientific Realism and the Discovery of Radium. (deposited 18 May 2022 13:28)

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