Scientific Realism and Laws of Nature: A Metaphysics of Causal Powers

Beschreibung

This book addresses central issues in the philosophy and metaphysics of science, namely the nature of scientific theories, their partial truth, and the necessity of scientific laws within a moderate realist and empiricist perspective. Accordingly, good arguments in favour of the existence of unobservable entities postulated by our best theories, such as electrons, must be inductively grounded on perceptual experience and not their explanatory power as most defenders of scientific realism claim. Similarly, belief in the reality of dispositions such as causal powers which ground the natural necessity of scientific laws must be based on experience. Hence, this book offers a synthetic presentation of an original metaphysics of science, namely a metaphysics of properties, both categorical and dispositional, while at the same time opposing strong versions of necessitarism according to which laws are true in all possible worlds.
The main theses and arguments are clearly presented in a non-technical way. Thus, on top of being of interest to the specialists of the topics discussed, it is also useful as a textbook in courses for third year and more advanced university students.
This book addresses central issues in the philosophy and metaphysics of science, namely the nature of scientific theories, their partial truth, and the necessity of scientific laws within a moderate realist and empiricist perspective. Accordingly, good arguments in favour of the existence of unobservable entities postulated by our best theories, such as electrons, must be inductively grounded on perceptual experience and not their explanatory power as most defenders of scientific realism claim. Similarly, belief in the reality of dispositions such as causal powers which ground the natural necessity of scientific laws must be based on experience. Hence, this book offers a synthetic presentation of an original metaphysics of science, namely a metaphysics of properties, both categorical and dispositional, while at the same time opposing strong versions of necessitarism according to which laws are true in all possible worlds.
The main theses and arguments are clearly presentedin a non-technical way. Thus, on top of being of interest to the specialists of the topics discussed, it is also useful as a textbook in courses for third year and more advanced university students.


The only book to present a synthetic view of the main issues of scientific realism and metaphysics of science The first book to offer a comprehensive view of nature of theories, scientific realism and metaphysics of laws Of use to both academics and third year students in the field of philosophy and metaphysics of science

Autor*in

Michel Ghins

Themen in »Scientific Realism and Laws of Nature: A Metaphysics of Causal Powers«

Metaphysics of Laws Scientific Realism Causal Powers Models of realism Inductivism in mathematics de re knowledge scientific laws of nature

Stimmen zu »Scientific Realism and Laws of Nature: A Metaphysics of Causal Powers«

“Scientific Realism and Laws of Nature: A Metaphysics of Causal Powers is a commendable exploration of the metaphysical foundations of scientific inquiry. The book, thoughtfully structured into six chapters, boldly advances a comprehensive and unified account of scientific theorizing, natural laws, and the ontology of properties. … Ghins’s book is an excellent resource for students seeking to explore the metaphysical ramifications of scientific inquiry.” (Joaquim Giannotti, Journal for General Philosophy of Science, Vol. 57 (1), 2026)

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