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From Instrumentalism to Constructive Realism

On Some Relations between Confirmation, Empirical Progress, and Truth Approximation

  • Book
  • © 2000

Overview

Authors:
  1. Theo A. F. Kuipers

    1. University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

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Part of the book series: Synthese Library (SYLI, volume 287)

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Table of contents (13 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
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  2. General Introduction: Epistemological Positions

    1. General Introduction: Epistemological Positions

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 1-12

  3. Confirmation

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 13-16
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    2. Confirmation by the HD-Method

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 17-42

    3. Quantitative Confirmation, and Its Qualitative Consequences

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 43-72

    4. Inductive Confirmation and Inductive Logic

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 73-87

  4. Empirical Progress

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 89-91
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    2. Separate Evaluation of Theories by the HD-Method

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 93-110

    3. Empirical Progress and Pseudoscience

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 111-133

  5. Basic Truth Approximation

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 135-138
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    2. Truthlikeness and Truth Approximation

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 139-172

    3. Intuitions of Scientists and Philosophers

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 173-207

    4. Epistemological Stratification of Nomic Truth Approximation

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 208-240

  6. Refined Truth Approximation

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 241-244
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    2. Refinement of Nomic Truth Approximation

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 245-277

    3. Examples of Potential Truth Approximation

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 278-298

    4. Quantitative Truthlikeness and Truth Approximation

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 299-316

    5. Conclusion: Constructive Realism

      • Theo A. F. Kuipers
      Pages 317-333

  7. Back Matter

    Pages 334-372
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Keywords

About this book

Surprisingly, modified versions of the confirmation theory (Carnap and Hempel) and truth approximation theory (Popper) turn out to be smoothly sythesizable. The glue between the two appears to be the instrumentalist methodology, rather than that of the falsificationalist.
The instrumentalist methodology, used in the separate, comparative evaluation of theories in terms of their successes and problems (hence, even if already falsified), provides in theory and practice the straight road to short-term empirical progress in science ( à la Laudan). It is also argued that such progress is also functional for all kinds of truth approximation: observational, referential, and theoretical. This sheds new light on the long-term dynamics of science and hence on the relation between the main epistemological positions, viz., instrumentalism (Toulmin, Laudan), constructive empiricism (Van Fraassen), referential realism (Hacking, Cartwright), and theory realism of a non-essentialist nature (constructive realism à la Popper).
Readership: Open minded philosophers and scientists. The book explains and justifies the scientist's intuition that the debate among philosophers about instrumentalism and realism has almost no practical consequences.

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Theo A. F. Kuipers

About the author

Professor Theo Kuipers is the author of From Instrumentalism to Constructive Realism (Synthese Library 287, 2000). He is the leader of the Groningen Research Group `Cognitive Structures in Knowledge and Knowledge Development', which gained the highest possible scores in two successive assessments of Dutch philosophical research by international committees.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: From Instrumentalism to Constructive Realism

  • Book Subtitle: On Some Relations between Confirmation, Empirical Progress, and Truth Approximation

  • Authors: Theo A. F. Kuipers

  • Series Title: Synthese Library

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1618-5

  • Publisher: Springer Dordrecht

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2000

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-7923-6086-5Published: 29 February 2000

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-90-481-5369-5Published: 04 December 2010

  • eBook ISBN: 978-94-017-1618-5Published: 18 April 2013

  • Series ISSN: 0166-6991

  • Series E-ISSN: 2542-8292

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 372

  • Topics: Philosophy of Science, Epistemology, Modern Philosophy, Logic

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