Structural realism - the search for a bearer of reality

Abstract

U po sled nje dve de ce ni je sta ra ras pra va o re al no sti na u ke za o kre nu la je od pi ta nja o sta tu su en ti te ta ka sta tu su stru ku ra ko je na u ka opi su je. Po ku ša ću da pred sta vim pred no sti i ma ne ovog no vog re a li stič kog fo ku sa na stru ku re i isto vre me no ana li zi ram ši ru sli ku raz vo ja na uč nog re a li zma. Struk tu ral nim re a lizmom ba vi ću se u for mi u ko joj se mo že na ći kod Džo na Vo ra la i Džej msa Lej dime na. Po seb no, is pi ti va ću od nos nji ho vih re še nja pre ma ar gu men tu na osno vu na uč nih re vo lu ci ja – pe si mi stič koj me ta-in duk ci ji. Tvr di ću da ove re a li stič ke strate gi je ni su do volj no ube dlji ve da bi smo na pra vi li ta kav skok u on to lo gi ji i pretpo sta vi li po sto ja nje ‘’ono stra ne’’ struk tu re (ne za vi sno od pi ta nja da li je to na uč no re le vant no) – pr ven stve no za to što ni jed na ni dru ga ne uspe va ju da na za do vo ljava ju ći na čin iden ti fi ku ju struk tu ru, ko li ko god ge ne ral nu, ko ja se u sme ni na uč nih te o ri ja aku mu li ra.

In the last two decades the old debate concerning reality of science shifted from questions regarding scientific entities to questions regarding scientific structures. I will present and assess advantages and drawback of this new realists’ focus on structures, and at the same time analyze the wider picture of development of the scientific realism. The structural realism will be tackled in the form encountered in works of John Worrall and James Ladyman. Special attention will be devoted to the relationship of their solutions to the argument based on the scientific revolutions - the pessimistic meta-induction. I will argue that these realist’s strategies are not sufficiently convincing to steer us to make a leap in ontology and presume the existence of meta-physical structure (regardless of the question is it scientifically relevant) - in the first place because neither one of them manages to satisfactorily identify a structure, however general, which accumulates in the scientific-theory change. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. OI179041: Dinamički sistemi u pirodi i društvu: filozofski i empirijski aspekti]