more from Tim Button

Single Idea 18695

[catalogued under 7. Existence / D. Theories of Reality / 4. Anti-realism]

Full Idea

If realists think an ideal theory could be false, then the theory is consistent, and hence complete, and hence finitely modellable, and hence it is guaranteed that there is some way to make it true.

Gist of Idea

An ideal theory can't be wholly false, because its consistency implies a true model

Source

Tim Button (The Limits of Reason [2013], 02.2)

Book Reference

Button,Tim: 'The Limits of Realism' [OUP 2013], p.17


A Reaction

[compressed] This challenges the realists' supposed claim that even the most ideal of theories could possibly be false. Presumably for a theory to be 'ideal' is not all-or-nothing. Are we capable of creating a fully ideal theory? [Löwenheim-Skolem]

Related Idea

Idea 18692 Realists believe in independent objects, correspondence, and fallibility of all theories [Button]