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Structural realism beyond physics
1Purdue University, Department of Philosophy, 7132 Beering Hall, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States.
Abstract:
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.
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