DEFENDING REALISM: Reflections on Karl Rogers's Metaphysics of Experimental Physics.

The main goal of this paper is to argue against Karl Rogers's attacks on realism in physics. Rogers argues that electrons do not exist independently of the relevant socio-technological process, but I show that such an assumption would make our best scientific theories incomprehensible. While the pap...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal of Critical Realism Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 126 - 148
Autor principal: Spencer, John H.
Formato: Book Review
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd 2007
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:The main goal of this paper is to argue against Karl Rogers's attacks on realism in physics. Rogers argues that electrons do not exist independently of the relevant socio-technological process, but I show that such an assumption would make our best scientific theories incomprehensible. While the paper supports Rogers's attempts to refute positivism, it demonstrates that his own position is positivistic, and it corrects his overemphasis on the roles of technology and the experimenter. Rogers assumes that the founders of modern science were simply mechanists (materialists), but I show how they were actually Platonic realists. Contrary to Rogers, realist faith in the fundamental unifying power of the laws of physics is shown to be reasonable, and! any denial of this belief would imply that science is impossible.