Holder, Justin (2024) The Structure of an Unknowable System. [Preprint]
![[img]](https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/fileicons/text.png) |
Text
Holder - The Structure of an Unknowable System.pdf Download (403kB) |
Abstract
One may demarcate at least three major forms of philosophical antirealism: scientific, sceptical, and transcendental. Each regards certain systems as unknowable. And for each, it has been argued that even if the nature of a system is unknowable, its structure may still be known. Structuralism in this sense is as yet ununified: even though structure is supposed to solve a similar problem in each case, proposals tend to be formulated in ways that make them specific to their respective contexts. Here I present a unified framework for making claims about only the structure of a target system which are not undermined by any of the three forms of antirealism. The framework may therefore provide a baseline for our knowledge of the world which is safe from most philosophical antirealism. The defining characteristic of my approach is how it leverages the role that an unknowable system plays in underlying experiences. I develop a formula for sentences making claims about the structures of target systems and I account for the representation of systems by mathematical structures as well.
| Export/Citation: | EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL |
| Social Networking: |
| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creators: |
|
||||||
| Keywords: | structural realism, scientific realism, scepticism, transcendental idealism, Ramsey sentences | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Models and Idealization General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Structure of Theories General Issues > Theory/Observation |
||||||
| Depositing User: | Dr. Justin Holder | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 29 Oct 2024 12:59 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 29 Oct 2024 12:59 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 24128 | ||||||
| Subjects: | General Issues > Scientific Metaphysics General Issues > Models and Idealization General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism General Issues > Structure of Theories General Issues > Theory/Observation |
||||||
| Date: | October 2024 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24128 |
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[feed]](http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/style/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}