Work

Dark matter realism: How referential semantics restricts realism in contemporary fundamental physics

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Philosophers increasingly treat semantics as decisive for realism about dark matter. I examine a recent proposal by Vaynberg (2024) anchored in Psillos’ causal–descriptive theory of reference (1999, 2012). I argue that, on the strong reference-fixing (kind-constitutive) reading required by semantic dark matter realism, the proposed $$\Lambda\text{CDM}$$ -motivated core description does not do the work assigned to it. It is compatible with entities we do not count as dark matter, and it excludes entities treated as live candidates in the contemporary landscape of models. I close by suggesting that this discrepancy between realist semantics and dark matter may be part of a general pattern in empirically scarce domains—the semantic specificity required by this realist strategy depends on forms of canonical confirmation that are not yet available.

Source: Synthese

DOI: 10.1007/s11229-026-05589-8

Author: Simon Allzén

Institutions: Stockholm University, Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Philosophy and History of Science

Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science

Field: Arts and Humanities

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,190

Funder: Stockholms Universitet