Perspectival Realism - MICHELA MASSIMI

(Yogi/Andrea/Kevin)

As part of our outreach program, we organize a series of public online discussion sessions with philosophers, biologists, and other researchers who do work that is relevant to our own project. The format is that of a short introductory presentation by our guests, followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A session involving the whole audience.

”Perspectival realism is not a brand of convergent realism because there is nothing to converge to. All we are left with are chains of indicative conditionals through which our inferential reasoning with perspectival models routinely takes place.”

The idea that scientific knowledge is shaped by various perspectives is one of the most recognizable concepts in the philosophy of science. At the same time, the concept is complex and often used in diverse or inconsistent ways, which has led some philosophers to argue for a more unified approach. We talked to Michela about why perspectival realism is essential for contemporary philosophy of science and what is meant exactly by “the dynamic and context-dependent nature of scientific knowledge.”

At the request of Michela, this conversation was not recorded.

Michela Massimi is a Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Edinburgh. Her research interests span scientific perspectivism, the history and philosophy of science, and epistemology. She has been advocating a new take on perspectival realism, which appeared in a monograph entitled “Perspectival Realism: Knowledge from a Human Vantage Point."