There Are No Such Things as Theories (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780198848158)

There Are No Such Things as Theories considers the fundamental question: what is a scientific theory? It presents a range of options - from theories are sets of propositions, to theories are families of models, abstract artefacts, or fictions - and highlights the various problems they all
face. In so doing it draws multiple comparisons between theories and artworks: on the one hand, theories are like certain kinds of paintings with regard to their representational capacity; on the other, they are like musical works in that they can be multiply presented. An alternative answer to the
question is then offered, drawing on the metaphysics of musical works: there are no such things as theories. Nevertheless, we can still talk about them, since that talk is made true by the various practices that scientists engage in. The implications of this form of eliminativism for the realism
debate is then discussed and it is concluded that this may offer a more flexible framework in which we can understand both the history and the philosophy of science in general.


Author: Steven French
ISBN-10: 0198848153
ISBN-13: 9780198848158
Publisher: Oxford University Press (UK)
Language: English
Published: 05/04/2020
Pages: 284
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.00w x 0.90d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 06/01/2021