Friday, July 23, 2010

Anjan Chakravartty on Brian Ellis, The Metaphysics of Scientific Realism, 2009,

A recurring theme on this blog is the relationship between (general) philosophy of science and contemporary (analytic) metaphysics. For those interested in the topic, the following review by Anjan Chakravartty of Brian Ellis, The Metaphysics of Scientific Realism, 2009, might be of interest:
http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=20347
The review appeared a few weeks ago, but it fell between the cracks.

I was quite taken by these lines:
"The need for ontological explanations of this sort, exemplifying metaphysical necessitation no less, is not universally accepted among philosophers of science, and Ellis does not defend this need in the face of alternative (for example, empiricist and pragmatist) approaches to scientific knowledge. The motivation for the project of the book must, therefore, be taken as preaching to the already converted."

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