-
Period: to
Constructive Empiricism
-
Observable vs Unobservable
Bas Van Fraassen is a philosopher of science that coined the term “constructive empiricism”. The idea of constructive empiricism focuses on science of “truths” based solely on the observable aspects of the world, while not drawing emphasis on unobservable elements (Monton, 2017). The concept of constructive empiricism challenges the ideologies of realists. -
Scientific Realism
Alternatively, scientific realism can be viewed as combining both philosophical theories and scientific studies, as one in the same, through a basic structure of science as long as they are considered to be empirically adequate. Thus, scientific realism considers both observable and unobservable phenomena, in contrast to only observable elements in the constructive empiricism theory (Monton, 2017). -
Conditions
Van Fraassen established two conditions that needed to be satisfied for a theory to be understood as “literal” (Monton, 2017). The first condition emphasized that claim theories must be genuine statements capable of being proven false or true (Monton, 2017). The second condition stressed that any version of a theory cannot change the logical relationships among the entities claimed by the theory (Monton, 2017). -
Harmony
This is important because it establishes standards of a theory and does not allow for the change in attributes of the supporting scientific relationships, it will only impact the theory. Van Fraassen’s analogy of an electron is a prime example of how to distinguish between the constructive empiricism and realist’s ideology. The constructive empiricism theory would categorize an electron as an unobservable aspect because individuals cannot fully deduce electrons. -
Something is there....but what is it?
Hence, only observable factors are considered when explaining the theory. On the contrary, the electron is a conceivable concept for realists because although individuals may not understand the unobservable element, realists create theories to explain observable and unobservable factors (Byrne, 2018). -
Conclusion
The constructive empiricism theory is limited as it has a narrower focus on a subject, whereas realists have more flexibility to think outside the box and introduce additional elements for the support of theories. -
Works Cited
Byrne, Peter. "Why Science should stay clear of Metaphysics." Nautilus, http://nautil.us/issue/40/learning/-why-science-should-stay-clear-of-metaphysics. Accessed 19 July 2018. Monton, Bradley and Mohler, Chad. "Constructive Empiricism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2017 Edition), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/constructive-empiricism/. Accessed 19 July 2018.