ADR-004: philosophy-of-science joins the philosophy group

Context

ADR-003 held philosophy-of-science back: the survey had found one work for it (the SEP entry on structural realism), and a word with one member is a field every record but one leaves empty. Seeding the survey’s 65 candidates found more: the open-systems view of quantum theory, the PBR theorem and the knowledge-and-reality question it prompted are arguments about how to interpret a physical theory, not results in physics. The owner asked for the word.

Decision

Add philosophy-of-science to topics, with a label and a blurb, and to the philosophy group’s members (still require: any).

Alternatives

• Keep using metaphysics for these — it was the nearest wrong tag. What structural realism is about is the relation between scientific theories and the world, which is philosophy of science; the metaphysics is a consequence.
• Fold it into quantum-foundations — the word is not specific to quantum theory, and structural realism is not.

Consequences

Retagged: Structural Realism (LIT-045) takes it as its primary topic; The Open Systems View (LIT-037), the PBR theorem (LIT-062) and Could wavefunctions simultaneously represent knowledge and reality? (LIT-090) take it as a secondary topic.