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Counterfactuals and Scientific RealismThe Concept of Idealization

Counterfactuals and Scientific Realism: The Concept of Idealization [We are finite beings who, from our very beginnings, have been faced — both individually and collectively — with the task of understanding a mammothly complex world. This task is by its very nature incredibly daunting. This is simply because we are relatively resource poor beings in the sense that our cognitive abilities are limited — even when amplified by the use of various logical/mathematical techniques and material tools. But, despite these limitations, we are faced with the difficult task of making sense of the world in all of its multifarious manifestations. Moreover, in pursuit of this grand epistemic task we have discovered that the best means available to satisfy the aim of understanding our complex world is the application of the increasingly sophisticated methodological techniques and tools of the sciences to the problems that we encounter in our interactions with the various elements of our environment. Of course, there are all sorts of skeptics in the tradition of Plato and Socrates who do not accept that our industry in the sciences has really moved us any closer to the goal of understanding the intricacies of our world. But, our practical and theoretical achievements to date at least strongly suggest that as time has gone on and continues to pass, we have and are coming to possess deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the nature of reality. So, we at least seem to know more about what exists and how the objects that make up our world behave, and it seems reasonable to suppose that we may even have already discovered some of the fundamental principles that govern existence. Of course, the sciences have faced set-backs and gone down many a blind alley (that this is so cannot be reasonably be denied by anyone with even the most passing familiarity with the history of the sciences), but overall it is hard not to draw the conclusion that science is progressive by and large and that we are coming closer and closer to the goal of comprehending both the fundamental and more mundane aspects of the world around us. All of this however is based on the view that the purpose of the sciences is to comprehend the world and that the aim of science is to discover the fundamental principles that govern reality. This particular story then presupposes the view that the purpose of the sciences is to provide us with a comprehensible and accurate picture of reality (or at least of some part of reality) as it is in itself at its most fundamental level(s).] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

Counterfactuals and Scientific RealismThe Concept of Idealization

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Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Copyright
© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2012
ISBN
978-1-349-33906-8
Pages
11 –46
DOI
10.1057/9781137271587_2
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

[We are finite beings who, from our very beginnings, have been faced — both individually and collectively — with the task of understanding a mammothly complex world. This task is by its very nature incredibly daunting. This is simply because we are relatively resource poor beings in the sense that our cognitive abilities are limited — even when amplified by the use of various logical/mathematical techniques and material tools. But, despite these limitations, we are faced with the difficult task of making sense of the world in all of its multifarious manifestations. Moreover, in pursuit of this grand epistemic task we have discovered that the best means available to satisfy the aim of understanding our complex world is the application of the increasingly sophisticated methodological techniques and tools of the sciences to the problems that we encounter in our interactions with the various elements of our environment. Of course, there are all sorts of skeptics in the tradition of Plato and Socrates who do not accept that our industry in the sciences has really moved us any closer to the goal of understanding the intricacies of our world. But, our practical and theoretical achievements to date at least strongly suggest that as time has gone on and continues to pass, we have and are coming to possess deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the nature of reality. So, we at least seem to know more about what exists and how the objects that make up our world behave, and it seems reasonable to suppose that we may even have already discovered some of the fundamental principles that govern existence. Of course, the sciences have faced set-backs and gone down many a blind alley (that this is so cannot be reasonably be denied by anyone with even the most passing familiarity with the history of the sciences), but overall it is hard not to draw the conclusion that science is progressive by and large and that we are coming closer and closer to the goal of comprehending both the fundamental and more mundane aspects of the world around us. All of this however is based on the view that the purpose of the sciences is to comprehend the world and that the aim of science is to discover the fundamental principles that govern reality. This particular story then presupposes the view that the purpose of the sciences is to provide us with a comprehensible and accurate picture of reality (or at least of some part of reality) as it is in itself at its most fundamental level(s).]

Published: Oct 26, 2015

Keywords: Physical System; Ising Model; Idealize Model; Frictional Force; Idealize World

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