Alan Musgrave has consistently defended two positions that he regards as commonsensical – critical realism and critical rationalism. In defence of critcal realism he argues for the objective existence of the external world as opposed to idealism, as well as arguing for scientific realism against all anti-realist accounts of science. His critical rationalism is drawn from the work of Karl Popper and stands opposed to inductivist and irrationalist methodologies. In defence of these positions, Musgrave’s writings have covered a wide range of topics in epistemology, metaphysics, philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics, history of science, theories of truth, and economic theory. In this volume a group of internationally-renowned authors discuss themes that are relevant in one way or another to Musgrave’s work. This is not intended as a standard celebratory festschrift but rather as a new examination of topics of current interest in philosophy. The contributory essays are followed by responses from Alan Musgrave himself.
Table of Content
Where Does the Burden of Theory Lie?.- Testimony, Induction and Reasonable Belief.- Theory-Confirmation and History.- Critical Rationalism and its Failure to Withstand Critical Scrutiny.- Methodological Rules, Rationality, and Truth.- Why is it Rational to Believe Scientific Theories are True?.- Thinking About the Ultimate Argument for Realism.- The Unseen World.- Why Alan Musgrave Should Become an Essentialist.- The Metaphysics of Realism and Structural Realism.- Scientific Realism and Mathematical Nominalism: A Marriage Made in Hell.- A Methodological Critique of the Semantic Conception of Theories.- A Refutation of Peircean Idealism.- Historiography as a Hypothetico-Deductive Science: A Criticism of Methodological Historism.- Ptolemy’s Musical Models for Mind-Maps and Star-Maps.- Responses.
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