Wright, Aaron S. (2017) Fresnel's Laws, ceteris paribus. [Preprint]
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Abstract
This article is about structural realism, historical continuity, laws of nature, and \emph{ceteris paribus} clauses. Fresnel's Laws of optics support Structural Realism because they are a scientific structure that has survived theory change. However, the history of Fresnel's Laws which has been depicted in debates over realism since the 1980s is badly distorted. Specifically, claims that J.~C. Maxwell or his followers believed in an ontologically-subsistent electromagnetic field, and gave up the aether, before Einstein's \emph{annus mirabilis} in 1905 are indefensible. Related claims that Maxwell himself did not believe in a luminiferous aether are also indefensible. This paper corrects the record. In order to trace Fresnel's Laws across significant ontological changes, they must be followed past Einstein into modern physics and nonlinear optics. I develop the philosophical implications of a more accurate history, and analyze Fresnel's Laws' historical trajectory in terms of dynamic ceteris paribus clauses. Structuralists have not embraced ceteris paribus laws, but they continue to point to Fresnel's Laws to resist anti-realist arguments from theory change. Fresnel's Laws fit the standard definition of a ceteris paribus law as a law applicable only in particular circumstances. Realists who appeal to the historical continuity of Fresnel's Laws to combat anti-realists must incorporate ceteris paribus laws into their metaphysics.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | scientific realism, structural realism, laws of nature, metaphysics of science, optics, historicism | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Condensed Matter General Issues > History of Science Case Studies General Issues > Laws of Nature General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Theory Change |
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| Depositing User: | Dr. Aaron S. Wright | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 12 Aug 2017 14:19 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 12 Aug 2017 14:19 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 13320 | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics Specific Sciences > Physics > Classical Physics Specific Sciences > Physics > Condensed Matter General Issues > History of Science Case Studies General Issues > Laws of Nature General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Theory Change |
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| Date: | 11 August 2017 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/13320 |
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Fresnel's Laws, ceteris paribus. (deposited 21 Jul 2017 13:59)
- Fresnel's Laws, ceteris paribus. (deposited 12 Aug 2017 14:19) [Currently Displayed]
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