Table of Contents
1 In Defence of Scientism Don Ross James Ladyman David Spurrett 1
1.1 Naturalistic metaphysics 1
1.2 Neo-scholastic metaphysics 7
1.3 The principle of naturalistic closure 27
1.4 The primacy of physics 38
1.5 Unity of science and reductionism 45
1.6 Fundamental and other levels 53
1.7 Stances, norms, and doctrines 57
2 Scientific Realism, Constructive Empiricism, and Structuralism James Ladyman Don Ross 66
2.1 Scientific realism 68
2.2 Theory change 83
2.3 Structuralism 93
2.4 What is structural realism? 122
2.5 Conclusion 129
3 Ontic Structural Realism and the Philosophy of Physics James Ladyman Don Ross 130
3.1 Identity and individuality in quantum mechanics 132
3.2 Individuality and spacetime physics 141
3.3 Objectivity and invariance 145
3.4 The metaphysics of relations 148
3.5 Objections to ontic structuralism 154
3.6 Mathematical structure and physical structure 159
3.7 Further reflections on physics 161
3.8 Conclusion 189
4 Rainforest Realism and the Unity of Science Don Ross James Ladyman John Collier 190
4.1 Special sciences and disunity hypotheses 190
4.2 Dennett on real patterns 196
4.3 Concepts of information in physics and metaphysics 210
4.4 Rainforest realism 220
4.5 Fundamental physics and special science 238
5 Causation in a Structural World Don Ross James Ladyman David Spurrett 258
5.1 Russell's naturalistic rejection of causation 258
5.2 Philosophers and folk on causation 266
5.3 Causes in science 269
5.4 Letting science hold trumps 274
5.5 Laws in fundamental physics and the special sciences 281
5.6 Real patterns, types, and natural kinds 290
6 Conclusion-Philosophy Enough Don Ross James Ladyman 298
6.1 Why isn't this Dennett? Why isn't it Kant? 298
6.2 A reductio 300
6.3 Neo-positivism 303
References 311
Index 339
