Scientific Realism in the Age of String Theory

dc.contributor.authorDawid, Richard
dc.date.accessioned2007-09-16T12:04:33Z
dc.date.available2007-09-16T12:04:33Z
dc.date.issued2007-09-16T12:04:33Z
dc.description.abstractString theory currently is the only viable candidate for a unified description of all known natural forces. This article tries to demonstrate that the fundamental structural and methodological differences that set string theory apart from other physical theories have important philosophical consequences. Focusing on implications for the realism debate in philosophy of science, it is argued that both poles of that debate face new problems in the context of string theory. On the one hand, the claim of underdetermination of scientific theory by the available empirical data, which is a pivotal element of empiricism, loses much of its plausibility. On the other hand, the dissolution of any meaningful notion of an external ontological object destroys the basis for conventional versions of scientific realism. String theory seems to suggest an intermediate position akin to Structural Realism that is based on a newly emerging principle, to be called the principle of theoretical uniqueness.en
dc.identifier.issn1863-7388
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2003/24724
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.17877/DE290R-12722
dc.language.isoende
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPhysics & Philosophy ; 11en
dc.subjectontologyen
dc.subjectscientific realismen
dc.subjectstring theoryen
dc.subjectstructureen
dc.subjectunderdeterminationen
dc.subject.ddc100
dc.subject.ddc530
dc.titleScientific Realism in the Age of String Theoryen
dc.typeTextde
dc.type.publicationtypearticleen
dcterms.accessRightsopen access
eldorado.dnb.zdberstkatid2262420-X

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