Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Epistemic Structural Realism (ESR), the view that structure is all we can know about the unobservable world, has been criticized for lacking sufficient metaphysical depth to qualify as a genuine form of realism. This paper defends a refined version of ESR – which I call agnostic ESR – that avoids these objections by committing to knowledge of detectable, concrete structures while maintaining agnosticism about the existence of objects with intrinsic properties. I respond to prominent criticisms, including Newman’s objection, concerns about ESR’s metaphysical clarity, and potential collapse into other views, by showing that agnostic ESR can provide a rigorous account of structural knowledge grounded in empirical science that cannot be defended by advocates of other realist positions. I argue that agnostic ESR is metaphysically robust to deserve the realist label.
Source: Metaphysica
DOI: 10.1515/mp-2025-0010
Author: Jared Hanson-Park
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,712
OpenAlex ID: W4417515267