ABSTRACT
The detailed view of myself and the world around me that results from the confirmatory process I have described will remind some readers of the sort of view defended by scientific realists. Philosophers meeting this description contend that the aim of science is to secure, by the development and confirmation of theories, a literally true account of what the world is like; and in accordance with this contention, they hold that accepting a scientific theory involves believing that it is true.45 Although I have not actually committed myself to this view of science, some of the remarks I have been making certainly suggest it. Since scientific realism has recently come under serious attack by accomplished philosophers of science, I want to round out my response to external-world skepticism by saying something about it and the criticism recently brought against it.
