Selective Realism vs. Individual Realism for Scientific Creativity
Seungbae Park
Abstract
Open-access reader
Seungbae Park
Abstract
Open-access reader
Individual realism asserts that our best scientific theories are (approximately) true. In contrast, selective realism asserts that only the stable posits of our best scientific theories are true. Hence, individual realism recommends that we accept more of what our best scientific theories say about the world than selective realism does. The more scientists believe what their theories say about the world, the more they are motivated to exercise their imaginations and think up new theories and experiments. Therefore, individual realism better fosters scientific creativity than selective realism.
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Individual realism asserts that our best scientific theories are (approximately) true. In contrast, selective realism asserts that only the stable posits of our best scientific theories are true. Hence, individual realism recommends that we accept more of what our best scientific theories say about the world than selective realism does. The more scientists believe what their theories say about the world, the more they are motivated to exercise their imaginations and think up new theories and experiments. Therefore, individual realism better fosters scientific creativity than selective realism.
Key concepts: Scientific realism, Realism, Epistemology, Philosophical realism, Creativity, Direct and indirect realism, Scientific theory, Critical realism (philosophy of perception)