De-Idealizing De-Idealization: Beyond Full Reversal

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Authors: Eugene Y. S. Chua, Yichen Luo
Cited by: 0

Abstract

There is a question of whether de-idealization is needed for justified use of -- for 'checking' -- idealizations. We argue that the standard philosophical account of de-idealization has become too idealized, but that this does not preclude the possibility of justificatory practices which show how models can be used to make inferences about the world. In turn, motivated by examples in physics, we provide a more expansive and practice-driven account of de-idealization by relaxing the standards for closeness to more realistic theoretical items, identifying at least three kinds of procedures for de-idealization: intra-model, inter-model, and measurement de-idealizations. These examples highlight how idealizations can -- and indeed have -- been scrutinized within physics without appealing to the philosopher's idealized notion of de-idealization.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Philosophy and History of Science Philosophy Science and History Epistemology Ethics and Metaphysics

Publication details

Journal / source
PhilSci-Archive (University of Pittsburgh)
Publication date
1 January 2026
Language
EN
Document type
Preprint