Entity realism (also selective realism), sometimes equated with referential realism, is a philosophical position within the debate about

scientific realism Scientific realism is the philosophical view that the universe described by science (including both observable and unobservable aspects) exists independently of our perceptions, and that verified scientific theories are at least approximately true ...

. It is a variation of realism (independently proposed by

Stanford School The Stanford School (humorously also called the Stanford Disunity Mafia) is a group of philosophers of science, the members of which taught at various times at Stanford University, who share an intellectual tradition of arguing against the unity o ...

philosophers

Nancy Cartwright Nancy Jean Cartwright (born October 25, 1957) is an American actress, best known as the long-time voice of Bart Simpson on ''The Simpsons'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and an Annie Award f ...

and

Ian Hacking Ian MacDougall Hacking (February 18, 1936 – May 10, 2023) was a Canadian philosopher specializing in the philosophy of science. Throughout his career, he won numerous awards, such as the Killam Prize for the Humanities and the Balzan Prize, ...

in 1983) that restricts warranted belief to only certain entities. Psillos, Stathis, ''Scientific Realism: How Science Tracks Truth'', Routledge, 1999, p. 247.

Overview

Whereas traditional scientific realism argues that our best scientific theories are true, or approximately true, or closer to the truth than their predecessors, entity realism does not commit itself to judgments concerning the truth of scientific theories. Instead, entity realism claims that the theoretical

entities An entity is something that exists as itself. It does not need to be of material existence. In particular, abstractions and legal fictions are usually regarded as entities. In general, there is also no presumption that an entity is animate, or ...

that feature in scientific

theories A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

, e.g. '

electron The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

s', should be regarded as real if and only if they refer to phenomena that can be routinely used to create effects in domains that can be investigated independently. 'Manipulative success' thus becomes the criterion by which to judge the reality of (typically unobservable) scientific entities. As

, the main proponent of this formulation of entity realism, puts it (referring to an experiment he observed in a Stanford laboratory, where electrons and positrons were sprayed, one after the other, onto a

superconducting Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in superconductors: materials where electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic fields are expelled from the material. Unlike an ordinary metallic conductor, whose resistance decreases g ...

metal sphere), "if you can spray them, then they are real." Entity realism has been an influential position partly because it coincided with a general trend in philosophy of science, and science studies more generally, to downplay the role of theories and put more emphasis on

experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

ation and scientific practice. Thus, entity realism sometimes is also called instrumental realism or experimental realism.

Criticism

While many philosophers acknowledge the intuitive pull of entity realism, it has also been strongly criticised, both as being too restrictive (in that it ignores entities that are observable yet do not lend themselves to manipulation) and as being too permissive (to the extent that seemingly successful instances of manipulation may turn out to be spurious).

Stathis Psillos Stathis Psillos (; ; born 22 June 1965) is a Greek philosopher of science. He is Professor of Philosophy of Science and Metaphysics at the University of Athens, Greece and a member of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy of the University of Wester ...

remarks that entity realism is indeed a realist position (since it defends the reality of unobservable entities), but it is a selective realist position, since "it restricts warranted belief to entities only, and suggests to fellow realists that they are wrong in claiming that the theoretical descriptions of these entities are approximately true". Psillos also remarks that to a certain extent "this scepticism about theories is motivated by none other than the argument from the pessimistic induction".

Notes

References

(1983). ''How the Laws of Physics Lie'', Clarendon Press. *

(1983). ''Representing and Intervening, Introductory Topics in the Philosophy of Natural Science'', Cambridge University Press. *Hans Lenk (2003). ''Grasping Reality: An Interpretation-Realistic Epistemology'', World Scientific, ch. 8
pp. 132–49
{{Philosophy of science Metaphysics of science Metatheory of science Philosophical realism

Overview

Criticism

See also

Notes

References