Menon, Tushar (2025) How to be a scientific realist: a normative-pragmatist proposal. [Preprint]

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Abstract

Motivated by the question about whether we should be realists about dark matter, I propose a new articulation of the debate between the scientific realist and anti-realist. I defend three claims. First, that the debate should be articulated in normative terms, where questions about normativity are understood as being questions about authority. Second, that positions in this debate should be defended using pragmatist strategies, where pragmatist strategies are understood as being agent-first strategies. Third, that the manner of implementation of a pragmatist strategy with respect to some scientific-theoretical vocabulary---such as `dark matter'---is highly domain-specific and turns on choices made by agents about what (and whom) they recognise as authoritative.

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Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Menon, Tushar mprna478@mit.edu 0009-0004-7216-6197
Keywords:	Scientific realism, Normative Pragmatism, Dark Matter
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Astrophysics General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
Depositing User:	Dr Tushar Menon
Date Deposited:	02 Apr 2026 15:03
Last Modified:	02 Apr 2026 15:03
Item ID:	28813
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Physics > Astrophysics General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
Date:	2025
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/28813

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