Chasing Reality: Strife Over Realism (Toronto Studies in Philosophy) - Softcover

Bunge, Mario

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1442628227 ISBN 13: 9781442628229

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 2014

Synopsis

Chasing Reality deals with the controversies over the reality of the external world. Distinguished philosopher Mario Bunge offers an extended defence of realism, a critique of various forms of contemporary anti-realism, and a sketch of his own version of realism, namely hylorealism. Bunge examines the main varieties of antirealism - Berkeley's, Hume's, and Kant's; positivism, phenomenology, and constructivism - and argues that all of these in fact hinder scientific research.

Bunge's realist contention is that genuine explanations in the sciences appeal to causal laws and mechanisms that are not directly observable, rather than simply to empirical generalisations. Genuine science, in his view, is objective even when it deals with subjective phenomena such as feelings of fear. This work defends a realist view of universals, kinds, possibilities, and dispositions, while rejecting contemporary accounts of these that are couched in terms of modal logic and 'possible worlds.'

About this title

About the Author

Mario Bunge is the Frothingham Professor of Logic and Metaphysics in the Department of Philosophy at McGill University.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1442628227
• ISBN 13: 9781442628229
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 277