Kareem Khalifa (Middlebury College)
Accuracy monism is the idea that accurate representation (paradigmatically: the acquisition of true beliefs and the avoidance of false beliefs) is the only ultimate epistemic aim of scientific inquiry. Arguments against it are threefold. First, past inquiries that resulted in false beliefs but advanced our understanding are episodes of scientific progress. Second, scientists' use of idealizations suggests that some falsehoods are cognitively valuable because they advance our understanding. Third, inquiries that aim at truths that do not advance our understanding appear deficient or misguided. I defend accuracy monism against these three objections.
