Do Cognitive Illusions Make Scientific Realism Deceptively Attractive?
-
Thomas Nickles
Abstract
Affirming-the-consequent is a well-known fallacy that leads naïve people to believe that a correct prediction shows that they are “on the right track,” the track of truth. Here I outline fifteen subtler forms of deception that I term ‘cognitive illusions’, intellectual perceptions that make strong realism seem more plausible than it is. Like affirming the consequent, some of these items are used as positive arguments by proponents of strong realism. I do not claim that exposing these illusions amounts to a decisive refutation of strong realism, let alone weaker forms of realism, some of which I can accept. But appreciating their force makes strong realism less attractive.
Abstract
Affirming-the-consequent is a well-known fallacy that leads naïve people to believe that a correct prediction shows that they are “on the right track,” the track of truth. Here I outline fifteen subtler forms of deception that I term ‘cognitive illusions’, intellectual perceptions that make strong realism seem more plausible than it is. Like affirming the consequent, some of these items are used as positive arguments by proponents of strong realism. I do not claim that exposing these illusions amounts to a decisive refutation of strong realism, let alone weaker forms of realism, some of which I can accept. But appreciating their force makes strong realism less attractive.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Novelty in Scientific Realism: New Approaches to an Ongoing Debate 1
-
I New Framework for the Realism and Anti-realism Debate
- Scientific Realism: What’s All the Fuss? 27
- Scientific Realism and Three Problems for Inference to the Best Explanation 48
- Scientific Realism and the Conflict with Common Sense 68
-
II Approaches based on History and Scientific Realism
- Evolving Realities: Scientific Prediction and Objectivity from the Perspective of Historical Epistemology 87
- Do Cognitive Illusions Make Scientific Realism Deceptively Attractive? 104
-
III Logical Approaches in Realist Terms
- Against Paraconsistentism 133
- Stratified Nomic Realism 145
-
IV Logico-Epistemological Structural Realism and Instrumental Realism
- Structural Realism: The Only Defensible Realist Game in Town? 169
- Mathematical Language and the Changing Concept of Physical Reality 206
-
V New Developments on Critical Scientific Realism and Pragmatic Realism
- Interdisciplinarity from the Perspective of Critical Scientific Realism 231
- Pragmatic Realism and Scientific Prediction: The Role of Complexity 251
-
VI Realism on Causality and Representation
- Realism and AIM (Action, Intervention, Manipulation) Theories of Causality 291
- Is Physics Biased Against Alternative Possibilities? 305
-
VII Realist Accounts on Objectivity and Facts
- Realistic Components in the Conception of Pragmatic Idealism: The Role of Objectivity and the Notion of “Fact” 331
- “Heard Enough from the Experts”? A Popperian Enquiry 348
- Realism in Archaeology – A Philosophical Perspective 365
-
VIII Realism and the Social World: From Social Sciences to the Sciences of the Artificial
- A Structural Realist Approach to International Relations Theory 391
- Objectivity and Truth in Sciences of Communication and the Case of the Internet 415
- Index of Names 437
- Subject Index 447
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Novelty in Scientific Realism: New Approaches to an Ongoing Debate 1
-
I New Framework for the Realism and Anti-realism Debate
- Scientific Realism: What’s All the Fuss? 27
- Scientific Realism and Three Problems for Inference to the Best Explanation 48
- Scientific Realism and the Conflict with Common Sense 68
-
II Approaches based on History and Scientific Realism
- Evolving Realities: Scientific Prediction and Objectivity from the Perspective of Historical Epistemology 87
- Do Cognitive Illusions Make Scientific Realism Deceptively Attractive? 104
-
III Logical Approaches in Realist Terms
- Against Paraconsistentism 133
- Stratified Nomic Realism 145
-
IV Logico-Epistemological Structural Realism and Instrumental Realism
- Structural Realism: The Only Defensible Realist Game in Town? 169
- Mathematical Language and the Changing Concept of Physical Reality 206
-
V New Developments on Critical Scientific Realism and Pragmatic Realism
- Interdisciplinarity from the Perspective of Critical Scientific Realism 231
- Pragmatic Realism and Scientific Prediction: The Role of Complexity 251
-
VI Realism on Causality and Representation
- Realism and AIM (Action, Intervention, Manipulation) Theories of Causality 291
- Is Physics Biased Against Alternative Possibilities? 305
-
VII Realist Accounts on Objectivity and Facts
- Realistic Components in the Conception of Pragmatic Idealism: The Role of Objectivity and the Notion of “Fact” 331
- “Heard Enough from the Experts”? A Popperian Enquiry 348
- Realism in Archaeology – A Philosophical Perspective 365
-
VIII Realism and the Social World: From Social Sciences to the Sciences of the Artificial
- A Structural Realist Approach to International Relations Theory 391
- Objectivity and Truth in Sciences of Communication and the Case of the Internet 415
- Index of Names 437
- Subject Index 447
