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Seeing Things - The Philosophy of Reliable Observation (Hardcover)
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Seeing Things - The Philosophy of Reliable Observation (Hardcover)
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In Seeing Things, Robert Hudson assesses a common way of arguing
about observation reports called "robustness reasoning." Robustness
reasoning claims that an observation report is more likely to be
true if the report is produced by multiple, independent sources.
Seeing Things argues that robustness reasoning lacks the special
value it is often claimed to have. Hudson exposes key flaws in
various popular philosophical defenses of robustness reasoning.
This philosophical critique of robustness is extended by recounting
five episodes in the history of science (from experimental
microbiology, atomic theory, astrophysics and astronomy) where
robustness reasoning is - or could be claimed to have been - used.
Hudson goes on to show that none of these episodes do in fact
exhibit robustness reasoning. In this way, the significance of
robustness reasoning is rebutted on both philosophical and
historical grounds. But the book does more than critique robustness
reasoning. It also develops a better defense of the informative
value of observation reports. The book concludes by relating
insights into the failure of robustness reasoning to a popular
approach to scientific realism called "(theoretical)
preservationism." Hudson argues that those who defend this approach
to realism commit similar errors to those who advocate robustness
reasoning. In turn, a new form of realism is formulated and
defended. Called "methodological preservationism," it recognizes
the fundamental value of naked eye observation to scientists - and
the rest of us.
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