Philosophy Scientific Realism Questions
The pessimistic induction is a philosophical argument that challenges scientific realism. It suggests that since many scientific theories in the past have been proven false or significantly revised, it is likely that our current scientific theories will also be proven false or revised in the future. This argument is based on the historical observation that scientific theories that were once widely accepted, such as the geocentric model of the universe or the phlogiston theory, have been proven incorrect. The pessimistic induction argues that if past theories, which were once considered successful, turned out to be false, then there is reason to doubt the truth or accuracy of our current scientific theories. This challenges scientific realism, which asserts that our current scientific theories provide an accurate representation of the world.