Ivanova, Milena (2013) Did Perrin's experiments convert Poincaré to Scientific Realism? [Preprint]

Preview

PDF Did_Perrin's_experiments_convert_Poincare_to_Scientific_Realism_HOPOS.pdf Download (388kB)

Abstract

In this paper I argue that Poincaré’s acceptance of the atom does not indicate a shift from instrumentalism to scientific realism. I examine the implications of Poincaré’s acceptance of the existence of the atom for our current understanding of his philosophy of science. Specifically, how can we understand Poincaré’s acceptance of the atom in structural realist terms? I examine his 1912 paper carefully and suggest that it does not entail scientific realism in the sense of acceptance of the fundamental existence of atoms but rather, argues against fundamental entities. I argue that Poincaré’s paper motivates a non-fundamentalist view about the world, and that this is compatible with his structuralism.

---

Export/Citation:

EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL

Social Networking:

Share |

---

Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Ivanova, Milena milena.ivanova@bristol.ac.uk
Keywords:	Atomism; Fundamentalism; Henri Poincaré; Scientific Realism; Structural Realism
Subjects:	General Issues > Experimentation General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Philosophers of Science General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
Depositing User:	Dr Milena Ivanova
Date Deposited:	07 Jan 2013 02:10
Last Modified:	07 Jan 2013 02:10
Item ID:	9510
Subjects:	General Issues > Experimentation General Issues > History of Philosophy of Science General Issues > Philosophers of Science General Issues > Realism/Anti-realism
Date:	March 2013
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9510

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item