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Accepted manuscript

Theoretical Virtues, Truth, and the Epistemic Aim of Scientific Theorizing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2025

Mousa Mohammadian*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
*
*Corresponding author: mm377@aub.edu.lb
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Abstract

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I argue that the epistemic aim of scientific theorizing (EAST) is producing theories with the highest possible number and degree of theoretical virtues (call this “TV-EAST”). I trace TV-EAST’s logical empiricist origins and discuss its close connections to Kuhn’s and Laudan’s problem-solving accounts of the aim of science. Despite TV-EAST’s antirealist roots, I argue that if one adopts the realist view that EAST is finding true theories, one should also endorse TV-EAST. I then defend TV-EAST by showing that it addresses the challenges raised against using the “aim of science” metaphor and offers significant advantages over the realist account.

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Article
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Philosophy of Science Association