# Scientific Realism vs. Anti-Realism: Toward a Common Ground

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.10643 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.10643/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 14 Dec 2024.

## Abstract (arXiv)

The debate between scientific realism and anti-realism remains at a stalemate, making reconciliation seem hopeless. Yet, important work remains: exploring a common ground, even if only to uncover deeper points of disagreement and, ideally, to benefit both sides of the debate. I propose such a common ground. Specifically, many anti-realists, such as instrumentalists, have yet to seriously engage with Sober's call to justify their preferred version of Ockham's razor through a positive account. Meanwhile, realists face a similar challenge: providing a non-circular explanation of how their version of Ockham's razor connects to truth. The common ground I propose addresses these challenges for both sides; the key is to leverage the idea that everyone values some truths and to draw on insights from scientific fields that study scientific inference -- namely, statistics and machine learning. This common ground also isolates a distinctively epistemic root of the irreconcilability in the realism debate.