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A name like 'dark matter' refers to an unknown mode of ph... — Carmelics

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Challenges→We ought not to speak of unknown modes of Being using any names we currently possess.

A name like 'dark matter' refers to an unknown mode of physical being while its descriptive sense ('matter detectable only by gravitational effects') remains meaningful and scientifically indispensable.

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Reasons For

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Reason for

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1.Descriptive content ('detectable by gravitational effects') provides empirical constraints independent of what dark matter ultimately is.
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2.Science regularly uses names for entities whose nature remains unknown but whose functional role in theories is explanatorily indispensable.
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3.The reference of 'dark matter' can be grounded in causal-historical relations to observational phenomena rather than intrinsic constitution.
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Reasons Against

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Reason against

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1.A name that refers to something 'unknown' commits us to realism about an entity while admitting ignorance of its essential properties.
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2.Descriptive sense alone cannot ground reference without some commitment to what the description is actually about—creating circularity.
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3.The claim conflates pragmatic utility (description aids calculation) with metaphysical reference (name picks out real entity type).
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Key Terms

Indispensable(describes which mathematical objects should exist according to Quine and Putnam): So necessary and important that you cannot do without it; essential.
descriptive sense(in philosophy of language): The meaning of a word based on what it describes or tells us about something—here, the description is 'matter you can only detect through gravity.'
mode of physical being(in metaphysics and philosophy of physics): A way or form that something physical can exist; in this case, dark matter is a type of physical stuff we don't fully understand yet.
refer to / reference(in philosophy of language and meaning): When a word or name points to or stands for something real in the world—like how the word 'dog' refers to actual dogs.

Connections

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Philosophy of Language1 linked

Related

A name that refers to something 'unknown' commits us to realism about an entity ...Descriptive content ('detectable by gravitational effects') provides empirical c...Descriptive sense alone cannot ground reference without some commitment to what ...Science regularly uses names for entities whose nature remains unknown but whose...

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The claim conflates pragmatic utility (description aids calculation) with metaph...The reference of 'dark matter' can be grounded in causal-historical relations to...

Details

Type: claim
Perspectives: 2 (1 for, 1 against)
Edits: 1 edit

We ought not to speak of unknown modes of Being using any names we currently pos...