ABSTRACT
Realists are epistemic optimists. Based largely on the no miracle argument, they reason that science can and does attain theoretical truth no less then it can and does attain observational truth. More sceptical philosophers of science, however, stress that there is room to resist the realists’ optimism. Agnostic empiricists grant semantic realism in order to interpret scientific theories. So, in this respect, they agree with scientific realists. Yet, unlike scientific realists, they challenge the epistemic status of t-assertions: they doubt that one can ever be in a position to warrantedly believe that the truth-conditions of t-assertions obtain. So, they want to motivate the view that the rational choice is suspension of judgement as to the truth of t-assertions.
