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Renormalization Group Realism: The Ascent of Pessimism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2022

Laura Ruetsche
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Abstract

One realist response to the pessimistic meta-induction distinguishes idle theoretical wheels from aspects of successful theories we can expect to persist and espouses realism about the latter. Implementing the response requires a strategy for identifying the distinguished aspects. The strategy I will call renormalization group realism has the virtue of directly engaging the gears of our best current physics—perturbative quantum field theories. I argue that the strategy, rather than disarming the skeptical possibilities evinced by the pessimistic meta-induction, forces them to retreat a level. I also suggest that those skeptical possibilities continue to carry force.

Type
Cognitive Sciences
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 85 , Issue 5 , December 2018 , pp. 1176 - 1189
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association

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Footnotes

†

I am obliged to my fellow symposiasts (Doreen Fraser, James Fraser, Leif Hancox-Li, Michael Miller, and Porter Williams) for provocation and guidance.

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