¿What is the metaphysics of science?

Abstract

This article addresses the question of what the metaphysics of science is. The fact that this discipline positively contributes to the articulation of our scientifi c conception of reality is defended. After characterizing the interaction between science and metaphysics (section 1), four constructions of the metaphysics of science are analyzed: radical metaphysical maximalism, which maintains that metaphysics makes science possible (section 2); moderate metaphysical maximalism, which suggests that science is unavoidably metaphysical given its interests in unobservable entities (section 3); moderate metaphysical minimalism, which points to the slippery metaphysical slope that involves the framework of scientifi c theories (section 4); and radical metaphysical minimalism, which maintains that metaphysical speculation must be restricted to the examination of ontological assumptions of our best current scientifi c theories. Section 6 concludes with some observations of the positive contribution of the metaphysics of science to our knowledge of reality.