The Dispute over Scientific Realism Today

Abstract

While analyzing Mateusz Kotowski’s book Realizm zreformowany. Filozofia Iana Hackinga a spór o status poznawczy wiedzy naukowej [Realism Reformed. The Philosophy of Ian Hacking and the Controversy over the Cognitive Status of Scientific Knowledge], I raise some questions about the contemporary dispute over scientific realism. The book is a great addition to the Polish literature in the field of philosophy of science. Nevertheless, it also contains several contentious points. First, Kotowski disregards the problems of scientific realism addressed in Kant’s philosophy of science. Furthermore, there are difficulties with the illustration of the problems of representation given in the monograph, as well as with the title of the monograph itself. Also, the analysis carried out in the monograph does not necessarily focus on the status of scientific knowledge but on the status of cognition of the effects of scientific research.