Abstract
In this paper, I argue that the “positive argument” for Constructive Empiricism (CE), according to which CE “makes better sense of science, and of scientific activity, than realism does” (van Fraassen in The scientific image, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1980, 73), is an Inference to the Best Explanation (IBE). But constructive empiricists are critical of IBE, and thus they have to be critical of their own “positive argument” for CE. If my argument is sound, then constructive empiricists are in the awkward position of having to reject their own “positive argument” for CE by their own lights.
References
Douven, I. (2017). Abduction. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/abduction/.
Evnine, S. (1991). Donald Davidson. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Maxwell, N. (2002). The need for a revolution in the philosophy of science. Journal for General Philosophy of Science, 33(2), 381–408.
McCain, K., & Poston, T. (2017). Best explanations: An introduction. In K. McCain & T. Poston (Eds.), Best explanations: New essays on inference to the best explanation (pp. 1–6). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mizrahi, M. (2012). Why the ultimate argument for scientific realism ultimately fails. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A, 43(1), 132–138.
Mizrahi, M. (2014). Constructive Empiricism: Normative or Descriptive? International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 22(4), 604–616.
Monton, B., & Mohler, C. (2017). Constructive empiricism. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/constructive-empiricism/.
Muller, F. A. (2008). In defence of constructive empiricism: Maxwell’s master argument and aberrant theories. Journal for General Philosophy of Science, 39(1), 131–156.
Psillos, S. (2007). The fine structure of inference to the best explanation. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 74(2), 441–448.
Sankey, H. (2016). Scientific realism and the rationality of science. New York: Routledge.
Schupbach, J. N. (2014). Is the bad lot objection just misguided? Erkenntnis, 79(1), 55–64.
Schwitzgebel, E. (2015). Belief. In E. N. Zalta (Ed.), The stanford encyclopedia of philosophy (Summer 2015 Edition). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2015/entries/belief/.
Sinnott-Armstrong, W., & Fogelin, R. (2015). Understanding arguments (9th ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.
Van Dyck, M. (2007). Constructive empiricism and the argument from underdetermination. In B. Monton (Ed.), Images of empiricism: Essays on science and stances, with a reply from Bas C. van Fraassen (pp. 11–31). New York: Oxford University Press.
van Fraassen, B. C. (1980). The scientific image. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
van Fraassen, B. C. (1985). Empiricism in the philosophy of science. In P. M. Churchland & C. A. Hooker (Eds.), Images of science: Essays on realism and empiricism, with a reply from Bas C. van Fraassen (pp. 245–308). Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
van Fraassen, B. C. (1989). Laws and symmetry. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
van Fraassen, B. C. (2000). The false hopes of traditional epistemology. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 60(2), 253–280.
van Fraassen, B. C. (2001). Constructive empiricism now. Philosophical Studies, 106(1/2), 151–170.
van Fraassen, B. C. (2002). The empirical stance. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Walton, D. (2005). Abductive reasoning. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press.
Watling, J. (1964). Review of foresight and understanding by Stephen Toulmin. British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 15(58), 164–166.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to an anonymous reviewer of the Journal for General Philosophy of Science for helpful comments on an earlier draft and to editor, Helmut Pulte.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mizrahi, M. The “Positive Argument” for Constructive Empiricism and Inference to the Best Explanation. J Gen Philos Sci 49, 461–466 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10838-018-9414-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10838-018-9414-3