Naturalized Metaphysics without Scientific Realism [Special Issue]
Issue: Issue 19 • Author/s: Amanda Bryant
Topics: Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ontology, Theoretical philosophy
Abstract: It is often assumed that a commitment to scientific realism naturally, if not necessarily, accompanies a commitment to naturalizing metaphysics. If one denies that our scientific theories are approximately true, it would be unclear why one should index metaphysics to them. My aim is to show that the project of naturalizing metaphysics does not require realist assumptions. I will identify two success conditions for the project of disentangling naturalized metaphysics from realism: 1) the narrow success condition, which requires the antirealist to explain why naturalized metaphysics is preferable to…