| The title of this book is somewhat misleading. Studies in Scientific Realism suggests a series of discontinuous investigations, wherein the author turns from one issue to another as different aspects of the topic strike his fancy. In fact, I've tried to provide a systematic and exhaustive survey of all the important considerations that bear on the question whether the unobservable entities postulated by science can be known to exist. The most precisely correct title would have been Realism and Antirealism in the Philosophy of Science. Unfortunately, a book with that title appeared just as I was putting the finishing touches on my own manuscript. Other, terser candidates, such Scientific Realism, Science and Reality, and Reality and Science are also taken. So there it is. |
| A substantial portion of this material has been culled from prior journal articles. However, it's been rewritten, supplemented with new insights, and reorganized for continuity to the point where it's no longer possible to line up specific chapters with specific articles. Here's a list of the articles that were mined: |
| "On the coherence of instrumentalism," Philosophy of Science, 1992, 59, 492497. Reprinted by permission of the University of Chicago Press. Copyright 1992 by the Philosophy of Science Association. All rights reserved. |
| "Non-empirical theoretical virtues and the argument from underdetermination," Erkenntnis, 41, 1994, 157170. Reprinted with kind permission from Kluwer Academic Publishers. |
| "Scientific realism, scientific practice, and the natural ontological attitude," British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 45, 1994, 955975. Reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press. |
| "Scientific realism and theoretical unification," Analysis, 55, 1995, 230238. Reprinted by permission of the author. |
| "The two antirealisms of Bas van Fraassen," Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, 26, 1995, 431454. Copyright 1995, reprinted with kind permission from Elsevier Science Ltd., The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington OX5 1GB, UK. |
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