Using historical and methodological analysis—in the spirit of Popper and his followers such as Lakatos—the paper argues that, in order to better understand the development of science and the strong mutual relations between metaphysics and science, we should distinguish two kinds of metaphysics: foundational metaphysics, which shapes scientific theories, and interpretative metaphysics, which arises from their interpretation. What differentiates these two kinds of metaphysics is their relation to scientific theories and the manner in which they are justified. Foundational metaphysics influences science directly, and its reliability can be justified by its fruitfulness for the creation, assessment, and development of scientific theories. Interpretative metaphysics, by contrast, is introduced in the course of interpreting scientific theories and is justified primarily by its explanatory value. The distinction between foundational and interpretative metaphysics is not a strict dichotomy; nevertheless, there are three reasons for drawing it. First, the motivations behind the two differ: whereas interpretative metaphysics is primarily concerned with articulating a detailed ontology of scientific theories, foundational metaphysics aims to identify general features of the world that can provide the basis for the development of new theories. Second, the metaphysical interpretation of a scientific theory can be—and indeed sometimes is—formulated on the basis of metaphysical assumptions that differ, at least in part, from those presupposed by its foundations. Third, novel basic metaphysical ideas and conceptual resources for science can be explored even prior to the construction of a new theory.

Authors:
Jerzy Gołosz, Jagiellonian University, Poland

About the Presenter(s)
Jerzy Gołosz is a Professor of Philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy at the Jagiellonian University, the Chairman of the Discipline Council for Philosophy, and the Head of the Department of Philosophy of Natural Sciences at the same University.

Connect on Linkedin
https://filozofia.uj.edu.pl/en_GB/jerzy-golosz

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