Experimentation in the cosmic laboratory.

It might seem impossible to apply Ian Hacking's experimental argument for scientific realism to astrophysical objects; indeed Hacking himself expressed scepticism about extragalactic entities. Such astrophysical antirealism has been the subject of intense debate and is usually seen as an undesired c...

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Published in:Studies in History & Philosophy of Science Part A Vol. 90; pp. 265 - 275
Main Author: Leconte-Chevillard, Gauvain
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier B.V. Dec2021
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Dec2021
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      pub: Elsevier B.V.
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        10.1016/j.shpsa.2021.10.005
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        atl: Experimentation in the cosmic laboratory.
      aug:
        au: Leconte-Chevillard, Gauvain
        affil: Institut d'Histoire et de Philosophie des Sciences et des Techniques, 13 rue du Four, 75006, Paris, France
      su:
        Problem solving
        Gravitational lenses
        Realism
        Computer hacking
        Argument
      sug:
        subj:
          Problem solving
          Gravitational lenses
          Realism
          Computer hacking
          Argument
      keyword:
        Astrophysics
        Cosmology
        Experimental argument
        Experimentation
        Gravitational lensing
        Scientific realism
      ab: It might seem impossible to apply Ian Hacking's experimental argument for scientific realism to astrophysical objects; indeed Hacking himself expressed scepticism about extragalactic entities. Such astrophysical antirealism has been the subject of intense debate and is usually seen as an undesired consequence of experimental realism. In this paper, I claim that it is possible to recast the experimental argument by reference to James Woodward's non-anthropocentric account of experimentation so as to apply it to astrophysical entities, such as gravitational lenses. I also argue that this new formulation of the experimental argument solves several problems with Hacking's original version.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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