2025/06/24 by James R. Beebe, Finnur Dellsén · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · #History of Science and Medicine
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/psa.2025.10092
Abstract We report new findings from an empirical study of scientists from seven disciplines and scholars working in history and philosophy of science regarding their views about scientific realism. We found that researchers’ general disposition to endorse or reject realism was better predicted by their views regarding scientific progress than their views about the mind-independence of scientific phenomena or other common theses in the realism debate. Age and gender also significantly predicted endorsement of scientific realism. Implications of these findings for philosophical debates about scientific realism and scientific progress are considered.