Realism Debate Research Articles

Anarchy, Evolution, and Ethics in International Relations

Abstract Challenging the Realist claim that international anarchy produces an amoral sphere of political action, Brian C. Rathbun argues that anarchy has selected for individuals with a particular moral sense. Flipping Realist arguments around, he claims that individuals would have never survived the hardships of anarchy if they were completely amoral. Rather, morality is a precondition for survival in anarchy. But unlike Constructivists, who maintain that socially constructed norms over time have civilized international politics, Rathbun claims that a morality is part of our human nature, and thus, a material feature of the world. To substantiate his claims, Rathbun adeptly applies insights from multiple disciplines, marshalling empirical evidence generated through a variety of natural and social scientific methods.

An intriguing way to synthesize a TiO2–ZnO hybrid nanostructure for the pragmatic application as a photocatalyst

In an attempt to counter the problem of treating wastewater more efficiently, we report the study on photocatalytic properties of metal oxide nanostructures under different light sources. A novel sonication-assisted refluxing method was employed to synthesize a binary heterostructure consisting of TiO2 and ZnO. XRD and EDS analysis of synthesized materials confirm the presence of both TiO2 and ZnO. Also, the change in the intensity of XRD peaks and elemental composition are well observed with a change in molar concentration of Ti and Zn. HR-TEM micrographs show nanostructures having hybrid Janus and Core-shell type structures. The XPS spectra were probed to identify the surface chemical species associated with the prepared heterostructures. Raman spectra confirm the smaller ZnO particles attached over agglomerated TiO2 as a shell layer as depicted in TEM results. Optical studies exhibit the modification in the band structure of the materials due to the formation of the heterostructure. The synthesized hybrid catalyst shows impressive results in photocatalytic performance. The catalytic potency of the prepared heterostructures under UV light is reminiscent of Anatase while it gets convalescent with an increment of Zn content under visible light. The photocatalytic performance of synthesized materials under sunlight shows their potential to be utilized as commercial catalysts for direct application in wastewater treatment. The kinetic study of the degradation data reveals interesting facets of the catalysis. It suggests that the photo-corrosion of the catalyst inordinately changes the rate of photocatalytic reaction which ultimately affects the photocatalytic efficiency of the catalyst. The study also discusses the role of kinetic and validation parameters in the selection of the best-fitted kinetic model with realistic arguments.

The controller-first constraint beyond the Basic Variety: how do instructed learner varieties solve contexts of competition?

Abstract The Basic Variety has been described as a fully fledged system that is developed in second-language acquisition. It is guided by a small number of interacting phrasal, semantic, and pragmatic constraints. This article is devoted to the semantic controller-first constraint, which says that “the NP-referent with highest control comes first” in discourse contexts where this constraint comes into conflict. The Basic Variety, as described by Klein and Perdue, relates to migrant learners that were exposed to target languages in naturalistic contexts and situations outside the classroom. Our study also deals with learners living in the target language’s country at the time of the data collection, but our learners were benefiting from foreign language teaching at university. The goal of this study is twofold. The first part of the article discusses the origins of the key notion of ‘controller’ and introduces related theoretical underpinnings, such as argument hierarchies of transitive verbs and crucial factors determining argument realization. Our analysis shows that the controller-first constraint overlaps with two key concepts of the description of L1 functional grammars – i.e., control asymmetry and the Actor-Undergoer Hierarchy – suggesting that it does not only pertain to the Basic Variety but broadly speaking to the human language capacity. The second part of this study presents some preliminary results on the L2 grammars of Spanish-speaking learners of French in a context of ‘competition’. Our results show the pervasiveness of the controller-first constraint on L2 grammars beyond initial, non-instructed learner varieties, suggesting that this semantic principle is not totally independent of (a) the specifics of the source language and (b) the target constructions of the foreign language classroom.

Illusionism about virtual causation

ABSTRACT The question whether there are virtual objects grows more salient, as virtual reality (VR) technology becomes commercially viable. Arguments for realism about virtual objects rely on virtual causation. This paper argues that current accounts of virtual causation (both realist and irrealist) are inadequate – realists oversimplify the relation between virtual objects, virtual events, and their digital counterparts, while irrealists conflate virtual objects with their on-screen representations. Once these issues are rectified, it becomes clear that virtual causation is illusory, because the presumed structure of causal interactions between virtual objects does not map onto the structure of causal interactions between underlying computational objects and processes. Thus, the key realist contention that the causal interactions between virtual objects reveal their identity with the underlying computational objects and processes (digital objects) cannot be sustained. I conclude that an appropriate understanding of virtual causation favours irrealism about virtual objects.

Variable agentivity: Polysemy or underspecification

Many English verbs typically used agentively allow non-agentive uses. Some recent approaches assume such verbs are unspecified for agentivity, although in principle, polysemy is also an option. We demonstrate the complexity of variable agentivity through an in-depth examination of the English verb sweep, which shows variable agentivity due to both underspecification and motivated polysemy. Drawing on corpus data, we identify two senses for sweep, each with unique argument realization options and interpretive properties. The prototypical uses of this verb, which involve the use of a broom, are obligatorily agentive; however, we claim they instantiate a specialized sense. We argue that the verb’s basic sense, which underlies all its other uses, is unspecified for agentivity, being found with agentive and non-agentive subjects. We formulate event structures for both senses that encode the grammatically relevant components of meaning common across all the verb’s uses: an entity moves along a surface while imparting a force via contact with it. We show that the event structure for the specialized sense, which fixes the moving entity to be a broom, is derived via established processes involving the lexicalization of instruments and routine goal-oriented activities. We demonstrate how the argument realization options and interpretive properties that the verb shows in each sense emerge from applying established principles of argument realization and semantic composition to these event structures.

Relative Frequency Controversies and the Growth of Biological Knowledge

Relative frequency controversies, so common in the biological sciences, pose something of a puzzle. Why do biologists routinely engage in disputes that (a) are rarely settled and (b) arguably wouldn’t yield interesting knowledge even if they were? Recent work suggests that relative frequency controversies can lead biologists to increase their understanding of the modal profile of the processes under dispute. Here, we consider some further consequences of this view. We contend that relative frequency controversies can generate recurrent, transient underdetermination about which causes are responsible for producing particular effects. As a result, the increases in understanding these controversies provide can come with decreases in biologists’ ability to offer warranted explanations. We argue that this fits with a toolkit view of biological theory, and suggest some implications for the scientific realism debate as it pertains to biological science.

Transfer five ways: applications of multiple distinctive collexeme analysis to the dative alternation in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract The dative alternation has been extensively studied in the world’s languages, and the meanings of the verbs participating in the alternation have been shown to play a key role in determining its argument realization options. The present paper presents a multiple distinctive collexeme analysis approach to the dative alternation in Mandarin Chinese, which involves a choice of one of five functionally similar alternants, and it does so by also discussing several ways to improve how this has been done statistically in most previous analyses. Linguistically, we identify the core semantic differences of the five constructions based on which verbs statistically prefer to occur in which pattern, focusing on semantic potential and direction of transfer. Methodologically, this study contributes to the slowly growing body of studies that use collexeme strengths that are not only less related to frequency than the traditional methods (i.e., association is measured in a less diluted way) and that are directional (i.e., we can focus on one direction of association from the verb to the construction).

Scientific realism, scientific practice, and science communication: An empirical investigation of academics and science communicators

We argue that the societal consequences of the scientific realism debate, in the context of science-to-public communication are often overlooked and careful theorizing about it needs further empirical groundwork. As such, we conducted a survey experiment with 130 academics (from physics, chemistry, and biology) and 137 science communicators. We provided them with an 11-item questionnaire probing their views of scientific realism and related concepts. Contra theoretical expectations, we find that (a) science communicators are generally more inclined towards scientific antirealism when compared to scientists in the same academic fields, though both groups show an inclination towards realism and (b) academics who engage in more theoretical work are not less (or more) realist than experimentalists. Lastly, (c), we fail to find differences with respect to selective realism but find that science communicators are significantly less epistemically voluntarist compared to their academic counterparts. Overall, our results provide first empirical evidence on the views of scientists and science communicators on scientific realism, with some results running contra to the theoretical expectations, opening up new empirical and theoretical research directions.

On Emotional States and their Syntactic Representation

The study focuses on the analyses of syntactic structure of some predicates and state predicatives denoting positive emotion: veselya (to make someone happy, in a good moon), veselya se (to frolic, to party), vessel sam (to be happy), veselo (mi) e (to be in a good mood), veselba e (it is fun). Our aim is to provide a syntactic model representing argument structure of predicates and predicatives from this thematic group. The syntactic realization of arguments, semantic role hierarchy, and specifics concerning the referentiality of the nominal phrases in argument position are examined. The analyses show differences both in the semantic structure of predicates and predicatives and in the syntactic realization of their arguments. In contrast to other emotional predicates, veselya and veselya se have only nominal phrases as complements. While the analyzed verbs represent causative and dynamic predicates, respectively, the predicatives vessel, vesselo denote emotional states. Nominal phrases, as well as complement clauses can be used in complement positions. In this respect, the syntactic realization of predicatives is similar to the one of other emotional state predicatives, such as radosten sam (to be happy), radostno (mi) e (it is rejoicing).

Sin and Socialism: The Development of Realism in Christian Socialist Thought

ABSTRACT In this article I investigate how Christian socialist thought has approached the problem of human nature and realism. I focus on four key figures in the tradition: F. D. Maurice, Walter Rauschenbusch, Reinhold Niebuhr, and William Temple. My account makes two claims: first, that realist grounds for the Christian socialist vision developed as the tradition matured; and second, that it is possible to reconcile a realism grounded in original sin with socialism. The core of the realist argument for socialism is simply an extension of a primary justification for political democracy: because of sinful human nature, power needs countervailing forces. Decentralized economic democracy achieves this by distributing power widely. Markets do the same by decentralizing decision-making and enabling selfishness to be “harnessed” and yet “contained” by social ownership. Christian socialism can thus be understood as not only compatible with realism but as the logical outworking of realism.

Putnam’s Natural Realism and Its Problems

Hilary Putnam (1926–2016) was prone to change his mind on variety of philosophical issues and almost constantly to modify his views. The last period of the development of his philosophy is known as the phase of commonsense or natural realism, eloquently presented in his 1994 Dewey Lectures. This paper is focused on three facets of his position and tries to identify three difficulties it encounters. Firstly, Putnam claims that in the contemporary realism debate we have, on the one hand, proponents of extravagant metaphysical realism, and, on the other hand, advocates of various versions of irresponsible antirealism. Unfortunately, the delineation of the debate is too coarse-grained, since there are many forms of metaphysical realism, and lumping together various antirealisms is confusing and unhelpful. Secondly, Putnam’s naïve direct realism in the philosophy of perception seems incompatible with his transactional account of perception. Thirdly, for some time Putnam was under a spell of Wittgensteinian quietism that distorted the true character of his philosophical ideas.

Realist climate action: Between responsiveness and responsibility

How should political leaders address the emerging climate crisis if citizens are reluctant to accept costly but necessary climate action? In this article, I address this question by harnessing insights from the realist tradition in political theory. I propose that the realist legitimacy framework provides action guidance by offering two broadly applicable heuristics for political agents: responsibility and responsiveness. These heuristics collide if citizens are unwilling to accept policies designed to secure a nation's long-term stability. Faced with this problem, some authors make the supposedly realist argument that policymakers in liberal democracies should prioritise responsibility over responsiveness and embrace eco-authoritarianism to address the climate emergency. Against this line of argument, I maintain that the realist legitimacy framework entails no such commitment. Instead, realists must emphasise that responsible climate action entails a sufficient degree of responsiveness. I conclude by sketching how this insight may guide democratic leaders and climate activists in the future.

The miracles argument meets quantum mechanics: Toward a locavore philosophy of physics

It's a mistake to afflict upon on our best theories a single, uniform interpretation meant to apply in all circumstance. It's a mistake because it impedes the capacity of those theories to function as science. To refrain from the mistake is to adopt the locavore hypothesis: the same theory can merit different interpretations in different circumstances. Using quantum mechanics as an example, I argue for the locavore hypothesis, and examine its consequences not only for the scientific realism debate but also for our notion of scientific understanding.

Mental state, volition and argument realization

ABSTRACT: We explore argument realization in the resultative V- de construction under the framework of the Theta System. We find that the theta grids of the resultative V- de construction are of two types, i.e., ([+c-m], [-c]) and ([+cm], [-m]), depending on the (a-)thematic relation between the verb and second/internal argument. Crucially, the external argument always has a /-m feature (the minus value of the mental state), regardless of its animacy, leading to a non-volitional Agent reading (animate) and a Cause reading (inanimate). It is due to this [+c-m] feature cluster that the construction yields an unintended result reading, which captures its preference for the occurrence of dou ‘unexpectedly’ in the construction. In this sense, the resultative V- de construction can be considered as a non-volitional counterpart to its de -less counterpart. This contrast signals the grammatical/morphological coding of volition, with the assistance of de , in Mandarin Chinese. As for the internal argument, it can be either [-c] or [-m], and their syntactic and semantic differences lend credence to the distinction between “outer objects” and “outermost objects”. The syntactic distribution of [-c] is sensitive to animacy, with animate [-c] being allowed to in both [NP1 V- de NP2 XP] and [NP1 ba -NP2 V- de XP], and inanimate [-c] in [NP1 ba -NP2 V- de XP] only, due to the interactions between animacy and case. As for [-m], it occurs in [NP1 V- de NP2 XP], in which NP2 is not thematically related to V and ba -introduction is barred. This study enriches the Theta System with Chinese data, in special regard to how animacy, mental state, and volition may affect argument realization. 摘要: 本文在 Theta 系统理论框架下探讨[V-得]结构的论元实现方式。该构式 有两种不同的论元结构，即([+c-m], [-c])和([+c-m], [-m])，两者的差 异在于动词和内论元之间是否有述谓关系(thematic relation)。两种论 元结构有一个重要的共同点，即外论元不具有心理状态的特性(即/-m)。 具体而言，不管外论元是否具有生命性，该论元都没有执行动作的意 愿性。生命性这一语义特征只能影响外论元的具体语义解读：如果外 论元是有生命名词，该论元解读为无意愿性“施事”论元；如果外论 元是无生命名词，该论元则解读为“原因”论元。不管具体解读如何， 该外论元都含有无意愿性语义特征，这也解释了为何该结构倾向于选 择具有出乎意料语义的“都”这一副词。据此，我们认为[V-得]结构 的主要功能是无意愿性构式，而“V-得”则是汉语中无意愿性语义的 语法体现。[V-得]结构的内论元具有无致使性(即[-c])或无心理性(即 [-m])，两者的句法语义差异可以证实汉语中“外论元”和“最外论元” 的存在。具体而言，无致使性内论元(即[-c])对生命性这一语义特征具 有选择性，有生命的[-c]可以允准进入[V-得]结构，承担宾语功能，即 [NP1 V- de NP2 XP]；而无生命性[-c]只能借由“把”字引入，即[NP1 ba -NP2 V- de XP]。无心理性内论元[-m]则不受生命性特征影响，不管 有无生命性，均可允准成为[V-得]结构的宾语；该宾语是“最外论 元”，与动词没有述谓关系，也不能通过把字句引入。该研究用中文 的语料丰富了 Theta 系统理论的研究；同时，该研究探讨了生命性、 心理属性和意愿性等语义特征的句法实现。

MENTAL STATE, VOLITION AND ARGUMENT REALIZATION

We explore argument realization in the resultative V-de construction under the framework of the Theta System. We find that the theta grids of the resultative V- de construction are of two types, i.e., ([+c-m], [-c]) and ([+cm], [-m]), depending on the (a-)thematic relation between the verb and second/internal argument. Crucially, the external argument always has a /- m feature (the minus value of the mental state), regardless of its animacy, leading to a non-volitional Agent reading (animate) and a Cause reading (inanimate). It is due to this [+c-m] feature cluster that the construction yields an unintended result reading, which captures its preference for the occurrence of dou ‘unexpectedly’ in the construction. In this sense, the resultative V- de construction can be considered as a non-volitional counterpart to its de -less counterpart. This contrast signals the grammatical/morphological coding of volition, with the assistance of de , in Mandarin Chinese. As for the internal argument, it can be either [-c] or [-m], and their syntactic and semantic differences lend credence to the distinction between “outer objects” and “outermost objects”. The syntactic distribution of [-c] is sensitive to animacy, with animate [-c] being allowed to in both [NP1 V- de NP2 XP] and [NP1 ba-NP2 V-de XP], and inanimate [-c] in [NP1 ba -NP2 V- de XP] only, due to the interactions between animacy and case. As for [-m], it occurs in [NP1 V- de NP2 XP], in which NP2 is not thematically related to V and ba -introduction is barred. This study enriches the Theta System with Chinese data, in special regard to how animacy, mental state, and volition may affect argument realization.

Psych verbs in Japanese: Inchoativity and boundary types

Psych(ological) verbs pose a problem to theories about argument realization that assume a uniform and universal mapping between semantic relations and syntactic configurations. A number of attempts try to explain variation in argument structure in terms of the aspectual differences, assuming that the argument realization of a predicate is a reflection of the temporal properties of the predicate to some extent. However, it is challenging to classify psych verbs into any of Vendler’s four aspectual classes because of the “inchoativity” of these verbs. In this study, we take the notion of 'boundary' and its different types as relevant semantic components to describe the internal temporal structure of predicates. We demonstrate that Japanese psych verbs are not aspectually homogeneous but include different types of inchoatives. Accordingly, we propose that the argument realizations of psych verbs can be ascribed to the types of the ‘boundary’ (i.e. left boundary, right = left boundary and its explicitness/implicitness) the predicates denote.

Veritistic Teleological Epistemology, the Bad Lot, and Epistemic Risk Consistency

AbstractThis paper connects veritistic teleological epistemology, VTE, with the epistemological dimension of the scientific realism debate. VTE sees our epistemic activities as a tradeoff between believing truths and avoiding error. I argue that van Fraassen’s epistemology is not suited to give a justification for a crucial presupposition of his Bad Lot objection to inference to the best explanation (IBE), the presupposition that believing that p is linked to p being more likely to be true. This makes him vulnerable to a counterargument, tailored after Musgrave’s defense of IBE, which would result in a stalemate between them about presuppositions of rationality. I will, however, show that switching to VTE can justify van Fraassen’s presupposition. This leads to a dismissal of common IBE arguments for realism as presented by Boyd and Musgrave, but I also argue that a more cautious version of realism can be rescued from the Bad Lot objection. Finally, I raise some worries about epistemic risk-attitude consistency for constructive empiricists and develop an alternative anti-realist position.1

Are There Experimental Arguments Independent of Theories? In Defense of a Hackingian Approach to the Scientific Realism Debate

ABSTRACT This paper defends a Hackingian approach to the scientific realism debate by arguing against mainstream realists’ and antirealists’ common claim that no experimental arguments for the reality of posited entities can be theory-independent. Opposing this claim, I argue that some experimental arguments can warrant belief in the existence of entities without depending on the truth of the theories that posit the entities and describe their properties and the theories that explain the interactions between the entities and the experimental devices. To achieve this goal, I investigate Hacking’s case of electron spraying, the famous experiment of positioning atoms by means of a scanning tunnelling microscope, and some novel experiments that use Ashkin’s optical tweezers. By introducing the distinction between theoretical properties and ontic properties, I argue that we can build up some theory-independent criteria of reality on the basis of ontic properties. Manipulability is an ontic property and the manipulation criterion is thus a theory-independent one, which should be reexamined and used for those experimental cases along a local approach to the realism debate. Resisting the mainstream realists’ and antirealists’ objections, I contend that some experiments using optical tweezers can warrant belief in the existence of the experimented entities without depending on theories.

Learning to Live with a Circle: Reflective Equilibrium and the Received View of the Scientific Realism Debate

The Scientific Realism Debate (SRD) has been accused of going around in circles without reaching a consensus, so that several scholars have advocated its dissolution in favor of reformed projects that are eliminativist towards the distinctively philosophical aims and methods. In this paper, after outlining the project that SRD-participants have been involved in for some time now—which we call the Received View—we discuss two dissolution-proposals: sociological externalism and localism. We argue that these projects are incomplete and that, even when judged in themselves, they cannot flourish without the ‘traditional’ philosophical reflection they wish to get rid of. However, although not substitutes for the Received View, those projects have some insightful features. These are assigned their proper place in the dialectics of SRD, which is shown to be an instance of the method of reflective equilibrium (MRE). Lastly—based on Michael DePaul’s work—we provide a response to the well-known concern that MRE is epistemically circular, by claiming that MRE is the only rational method of inquiry. Overall, our goal is ‘therapeutic’: we try to mitigate the anxiety caused by simultaneously believing that SRD is circular and suspecting that there is a good way out of the circle that we just haven’t found yet. For, having dismissed the suspicion that there might be a good trick to dissolve the circle, one may learn to live in it and be more calm in carrying on with what one has.

Natural Historical Attitude: Objectivity Before Truth Book Review: Turner D. Making Prehistory: Historical Science and the Scientific Realism Debate. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Derek Turner believes that a proper interpretation of Arthur Fine’s natural ontological attitude can help to reveal the nature of the difference between «historical» (geology, archeology, forensics) and «empirical» (physics, chemistry) sciences. From his point of view, the apparent asymmetry between these sciences is a consequence of different understanding of the possibilities to «manipulate» the objects of study and the role played by background theories. In our opinion, Turner’s concept is a good example of how profound and inviting the instrumentalistic concept of science could be. First, it is «reflexive» in the sense that it constrained other instrumentalist theories (B. Fraassen’s constructive empiricism deeply flawed). And secondly, it is «constructive» – the emphasis that «the strength of arguments for or against scientific realism can vary depending on the scientific context» quite unexpectedly leads to the fact that «ideographic / nomothetic division is not very helpful», and to the fact that «epistemic disadvantage, but the same epistemic status». Reflections on the book: Turner D. Making Prehistory: Historical Science and the Scientific Realism Debate. Cambridge University Press, 2007.