EFFECT · Effective Realism: a New Framework for the Ontology of the Sciences

Scientific realism, the view that our best theories reveal what the world is truly like, is essential for grounding the reliability and explanatory power of science. Yet it faces persistent challenges. Two key issues stand out. First, even our most successful physical theories, such as quantum field theory (QFT), break down at a certain scale, suggesting they cannot be strictly speaking true. Second, empirically equivalent theories often make conflicting claims about reality, raising the problem of underdetermination and casting doubt on which description we should believe in. A promising new approach, effective realism, addresses these challenges by arguing that scientific theories are to be treated as effective theories, not false but true within a specific scale, and that by restricting commitment to the scale at which empirically equivalent theories agree and are confirmed, we can solve underdetermination. However, this approach remains underdeveloped, limited to QFT, and lacking systematic articulation. This project will advance effective realism into a fully developed and general account of scientific realism by clarifying its ontological commitments, refining its application within QFT, resolving outstanding issues, and extending it to dark matter physics, offering the first effective-realist account of a domain central to contemporary science and crucial for realism debates. These case studies will provide the basis for proposing a general framework for effective realism with broader applicability. The project combines conceptual analysis with close engagement with current physics, drawing on interdisciplinary training and collaborations. It will be hosted at Politecnico di Milano, with a secondment at Western University to develop the dark matter component. By establishing effective realism as a leading approach in the realism debate, the project will advance philosophy of science and position the researcher as a recognised expert in this emerging topic.