Overview

Ilkka Niiniluoto comes to the rescue of scientific realism, showing that reports of its death have been greatly exaggerated. Philosophical realism holds that the aim of a particular discourse is to make true statements about its subject-matter. Niiniluoto surveys the different varieties of realism in ontology, semantics, epistemology, theory construction, and methodology. He then sets out his own original version, and defends it against competing theories in the philosophy of science. Niiniluoto's critical scientific realism is founded upon the notion of truth as correspondence between language and reality, and characterizes scientific progress in terms of increasing truthlikeness. This makes it possible not only to take seriously, but also to make precise, the troublesome idea that scientific theories typically are false but nevertheless close to the truth.

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9780199251612

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Reviews

`Review from previous edition very scholarly' The Jerusalem Philosophical Quarterly `The book is a rather technical philosophical treatise that might tire the uninitiated, but patience will be amply rewarded.' Stathis Psillos, The Times Higher Education Supplement `comprehensive in scope, clear in exposition, even-handed in its discussion of opposing views and full of useful references to the literature' Peter Menzies, TLS `the scope of Niiniluoto's discussion is impressively broad' Peter Menzies, TLS

Impressively broad.... [It] has many of the virtues of a good textbook: it is comprehensive in scope, clear in exposition, even-handed in its discussion of opposing views and full of useful references to the literature.... [It] demonstrate[s] the virtues of a sober and careful appraisal of the issues concerning realism about scientific theories. I shall be urging those of my students intoxicated by the excesses of social constructivism to study them closer. --Peter Menzies, Times Literary Supplement<br>

Author Information

Ilkka Niiniluoto is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Helsinki.

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