Publications by Year: 2018

2018
Arabatzis T. Review of J. Schickore, About Method: Experimenters, Snake Venom, and the History of Writing Scientifically (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017). Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte [Internet]. 2018;41:473-474. Publisher's Version
Arabatzis T. Review of A. Franklin, What Makes a Good Experiment? Reasons and Roles in Science (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2016). Isis [Internet]. 2018;109(1):146-147. Publisher's Version
Arabatzis T. How Physica Became Physics: Review of J. L. Heilbron, Physics: A Short History from Quintessence to Quarks (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015). Science & Education [Internet]. 2018;27:211-218. Publisher's Version
Arabatzis T. Spontaneous Generations: A Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science [Internet]. 2018;9(1):35-37.
I raise two challenges for scientific realists. The first is a pessimistic meta-induction (PMI), but not of the more common type, which focuses on rejected theories and abandoned entities. Rather, the PMI I have in mind departs from conceptual change, which is ubiquitous in science. Scientific concepts change over time, often to a degree that is difficult to square with the stability of their referents, a sine qua non for realists. The second challenge is to make sense of successful scientific practice that was centered on entities that have turned out to be fictitious.
2018a.pdf