JOSIEL DOS SANTOS CAMARGO

This research aims to clarify that the realism vs. anti-realism dispute persists strongly in philosophy of science. Although certain differences have diminished, there is still a split between these conceptions, directly related to the interpretation of what the objectives of science are in its attempt to represent physical reality. On the realist side, there has been an abandonment of strong versions of scientific (metaphysical) realism and, on the other, the gradual abandonment of a rigorous empiricist stance. From this, the debate between the two theses evolved into structural realism and empiricism. Therefore, it is argued that the positive changes that have taken place have mainly come from the work of van Fraassen who, through his two main works The Scientific Image (1980) and Scientific Representation (2008), has led the debate between realists and anti-realists in the philosophy of science to the present day. With the same intensity, it is argued that Laudan's criticisms of the realist program, especially its axiology, corroborate van Fraassen's theses and support the insufficiency of the realist program in explaining scientific dynamics through its lenses.