Argument of Scientific Realism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Argument of Scientific Realism - Essay Example Hilary Putnam claims that â€Å"The positive argument for realism is that it is the only philosophy that does not make the success of science a miracle† as quoted in Curd and Cover. A great number of scientific realists have opposed his view by presenting their arguments. Among different scientific realists, Bas van Fraassen and Larry Laudan are scientific realists who have debated against the claim of Hilary Putnam more accurately. The argument presented by Hilary Putnam is known as no-miracle argument that elaborates the scientific realism to be no-miracle because of the theoretical features of scientific theories. The argument of scientific realism had been forwarded because the scientific theories could only be possible and accurate when the approximate truth will be concluded. This is the biggest limitation of scientific theories that dents the scientific realism or scientific success. The no-miracle claim by Hilary Putnam further explains the theory on the basis of abduc tion. The no-miracle claim could also be understood in terms of a hypothetical situation where an entity â€Å"A† is a fact that is known surprisingly and through premise â€Å"P† the fact â€Å"A† can be elaborated. Furthermore, if this premise is not challenged by any other hypothesis then P and A both will be true. This explains that scientific theories are always approximate showing approximate truth. Thus no-miracle argument is considered to be the strongest argument in the ongoing debate of realism (Howson, 2003). In a simpler expression, no-miracle argument can be elaborated as an argument stressing on the fact that scientific theories proposed by different scientists are just matter of approximate truth. The use of word no-miracle is associated with this argument in a way that it shows that scientific realism is just another philosophy stating the theoretical aspect of scientific success (Moran, 2004).