ABSTRACT
What the antirealist needs is a good argument. Theoretical reductions of everyday objects to sense-data lack any interest unless we understand the arguments that lead to them. However, it seems that instrumentalists and reductionists about scientific knowledge have been overwhelmed by history. Contemporary science makes essential use of a host of theoretical terms, and many scientists seem to think that they are really manipulating genes, molecules and electrons. Why should anyone take the antirealist about science seriously? As we have seen, there are many ways to be an antirealist about science if you are some form of antirealist about everything. However, we are interested in the arguments specific to science. In particular, once again it is the fact that science is supposed to tell us about a reality beyond the appearances that will concern us. In the second part of this chapter I will explain constructive empiricism, which is a form of antirealism that denies the epistemic component of scientific realism. First, I will discuss an argument that has long been an important motivation for scepticism about scientific knowledge.
