ABSTRACT
Many philosophers think that historical science is a relatively easy case for scientific realism. This impression is due partly to a failure to distinguish among different things that one could be a realist about. Using ammonoid paleobiology as a guiding thread, this chapter distinguishes (1) realism about ammonoids themselves, as concrete historical posits, (2) realism about trends in ammonoid evolution, and (3) realism about inertial tendencies in ammonoid evolution. Even when it comes to (1), there are philosophically respectable alternatives to realism, although realism has a lot of intuitive plausibility. With respect to (2), it is quite difficult to say what a realist commitment would amount to. And with respect to (3), it is difficult to see how to motivate and defend a realist view. Thus, historical science poses more significant challenges to realism than many philosophers appreciate.
