What is Hacking's argument for entity realism?

Boaz Miller

pp. 991-1006

in: Thomas Ågotnes, Giacomo Bonanno, Wiebe van der Hoek (eds), Logic and the foundations of game and decision theory, Synthese 193 (3), 2016.

Abstract

According to Ian Hacking’s Entity Realism, unobservable entities that scientists carefully manipulate to study other phenomena are real. Although Hacking presents his case in an intuitive, attractive, and persuasive way, his argument remains elusive. I present five possible readings of Hacking’s argument: a no-miracle argument, an indispensability argument, a transcendental argument, a Vichian argument, and a non-argument. I elucidate Hacking’s argument according to each reading, and review their strengths, their weaknesses, and their compatibility with each other.

Cited authors

Hacking Ian