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Pattern Ontologies At Work

Andersen, Holly (2024) Pattern Ontologies At Work. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Patterns and pattern ontologies are a powerful way for pragmatists to address
metaphysical issues by rejecting a false dichotomy between pluralism and realism. However, there is
a common misconception about patterns that I call the philosophically perverse patterns (PPP)
problem. Here, critics of patterns invent perverse examples that meet the metaphysical criteria to
count as patterns. I defuse this concern by showing how PPP misunderstands what the pragmatist
metaphysics of patterns is supposed to accomplish: the bare definition should not rule out, or in,
substantive examples of patterns that instead should involve methodological considerations. I use
this response to the PPP problem to show how the metaphysical definition of 'pattern' allows the
pragmatist to capture the rich intricacies of ontologies in the sciences and yields two illustrative
norms by which methodology can be guided in developing or refining ontologies: cohesion and
coherence.


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Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Andersen, Hollyholly_andersen@sfu.ca0000-0002-7950-8186
Keywords: pattern, metaphysics, realism, pragmatism, pluralism, ontology
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
General Issues > Causation
General Issues > Conventionalism
General Issues > Models and Idealization
General Issues > Natural Kinds
General Issues > Operationalism/Instrumentalism
General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
Depositing User: Dr. Holly Andersen
Date Deposited: 03 Jun 2025 13:08
Last Modified: 03 Jun 2025 13:08
Item ID: 25537
Subjects: General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics
General Issues > Causation
General Issues > Conventionalism
General Issues > Models and Idealization
General Issues > Natural Kinds
General Issues > Operationalism/Instrumentalism
General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
Date: 2024
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/25537

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