Grasping Reality: An Interpretation-Realistic Epistemology (Series on the Foundations of Natural Science and Technology,Vol. 5)

This discussion addresses the methodology of a sophisticated realistic approach to scientific as well as everyday recognition by using schemes and interpretative constructs to analyze theories and the practice of recognition from a hypothesis-realistic vantage point. The three main theses are: (1) any "grasping" of real objects, processes, entities and so on is deeply dependent on scheme interpretations and interpretative constructs - in short, on using schemes and constructs - the same applies to any sophisticated actions encroaching on reality; (2) a sophisticated interpretation-dependent realism is sketched out and defended from a methodological, non-foundational, epistemological point of view called pragmatic realism; and (3) the most provocative thesis is generalized from the role of the well-known preparationist interpretation of quantum theory to everyday knowledge - the interpretative structuring and preparing of the experimental make-up as known in quantum mechanics is not just a special case but the rather general case of gaining any knowledge in science and everyday recognition. An appendix provides an overview regarding a realistic and pragmatic philosophy of technology, including the so-called new information technologies.