Mohammadian, Mousa (2025) Theoretical Virtues, Truth, and the Epistemic Aim of Scientific Theorizing. Philosophy of Science. ISSN 1539-767X
![[img]](https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/fileicons/text.png) |
Text
theoretical-virtues-truth-and-the-epistemic-aim-of-scientific-theorizing.pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication. Download (376kB) |
Abstract
I argue that the epistemic aim of scientific theorizing (EAST) is producing theories with the highest possible number and degree of theoretical virtues (call this “TV-EAST”). I trace TV-EAST’s logical empiricist origins and discuss its close connections to Kuhn’s and Laudan’s problem-solving accounts of the aim of science. Despite TV-EAST’s antirealist roots, I argue that if one adopts the realist view that EAST is finding true theories, one should also endorse TV-EAST. I then defend TV-EAST by showing that it addresses the challenges raised against using the “aim of science” metaphor and offers significant advantages over the realist account.
| Export/Citation: | EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL |
| Social Networking: |
| Item Type: | Published Article or Volume | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creators: |
|
||||||
| Keywords: | Theoretical Virtues, Aim of Science, Scientific Theorizing, Semirealism | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Logical Positivism/Logical Empiricism General Issues > Operationalism/Instrumentalism General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Theory Change |
||||||
| Depositing User: | Mousa Mohammadian | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 11 Jul 2025 13:09 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 11 Jul 2025 13:09 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 25937 | ||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Philosophy of Science | ||||||
| Publisher: | Cambridge University Press | ||||||
| Official URL: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/philosophy... | ||||||
| DOI or Unique Handle: | https://doi.org/10.1017/psa.2025.10094 | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Logical Positivism/Logical Empiricism General Issues > Operationalism/Instrumentalism General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Theory Change |
||||||
| Date: | 2025 | ||||||
| ISSN: | 1539-767X | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/25937 |
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Altmetric.com
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[feed]](http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}