Current Trends in Philosophy of Science. A Prospective for the Near Future

0563911 - FLÚ 2023 RIV CH eng M - Monography Chapter
Kvasz, Ladislav
Instrumental Realism. A New Start for the Philosophy of Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science.
Current Trends in Philosophy of Science. A Prospective for the Near Future. Cham: Springer, 2022 - (Gonzalez, W.), s. 165-188. Synthese Library, 462. ISBN 978-3-031-01314-0
Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) AP1602
Program: Akademická prémie - Praemium Academiae
Institutional support: RVO:67985955
Keywords : instrumental realism * empiricism * Wittgenstein * pictorial form
OECD category: Philosophy, History and Philosophy of science and technology
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-01315-7_8

Instrumental realism is a type of scientific realism which emphasizes the importance of scientific instruments for the acquisition of scientific knowledge. According to instrumental realism, we have epistemic access to reality but this access is often indirect, mediated by means of instruments. The development of science is accompanied by the introduction of new instruments which open up access to phenomena to which we had formerly lacked epistemic access. The knowledge gained by means of the new instruments usually results in the refinement of our theories, but sometimes it requires their correction. The results obtained by means of particular instruments are integrated, or synthesized, into a unified instrumental, linguistic and theoretical practice. We can distinguish four kinds of such synthesis - instrumental, relational, compositional and deductive. All four kinds of synthesis require idealization, which in instrumental realism is understood to be a linguistic reduction.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0336039