What is Hacking's argument for entity realism?

نویسنده

  • Boaz Miller
چکیده

According to Ian Hacking’s Entity Realism, unobservable entities that scientists carefully manipulate to study other phenomena are real. Although Hacking presents his case in an intuitive, attractive, and persuasive way, his argument remains elusive. I present five possible readings of Hacking’s argument: a no‐miracle argument, an indispensability argument, a transcendental argument, a Vichian argument, and a non‐argument. I elucidate Hacking’s argument according to each reading, and review their strengths, their weaknesses, and their compatibility with each other.

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عنوان ژورنال:
  • Synthese

دوره 193  شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2016