Structural realism beyond physics.
The main purpose of this paper is to test structural realism against (one example from) the historical record. I begin by laying out an existing challenge to structural realism - that of providing an example of a theory exhibiting successful structures that were abandoned - and show that this challenge can be met by the miasma theory of disease. However, rather than concluding that this is an outright counterexample to structural realism, I use this case to show why it is that structural realism, in its current form, has trouble dealing with theories outside physics. I end by making some concrete suggestions for structural realists to pursue if, indeed, they are serious about extending structural realism to other domains.
Purdue University, Department of Philosophy, 7132 Beering Hall, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States. Electronic address: tulodziecki@purdue.edu.
Dana
D
Tulodziecki
Miasma theory of disease; Pessimistic meta-induction; Scientific realism; Structural realism; Theory-change; Zymotic theory of disease