An Inferential Response to the "Loss of Reality Objection" to Structural Empiricism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/1808-1711.2022.e83844Keywords:
scientific representation, semantic conception, constructive empiricism, structural realism, inferential conception, application of mathematicsAbstract
This paper aims to meet an objection that has been raised against structural empiricism known as the “loss of reality objection.” I argue that an inferential approach to scientific representation allows the structural empiricist to account for the representation of phenomena by data models and ensures that such a representation is not arbitrary. By the notions of immersion, derivation, and interpretation, I show how data models are able to represent phenomena in a non-arbitrary manner. I conclude this paper with a programmatic outline of a view that arises from the theses defended throughout the article and that I would like to call “semantic structuralism.”
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