Probably the most dramatic historical challenge to scientific realism concerns Arnold Sommerfeld’s ([1916]) derivation of the fine structure energy levels of hydrogen. Not only were his predictions good, he derived exactly the same formula that would later drop out of Dirac’s 1928 treatment (something not possible using 1925 Schrödinger–Heisenberg quantum mechanics). And yet the most central elements of Sommerfeld’s theory were not even approximately true: his derivation leans heavily on a classical approach to elliptical orbits, including the necessary adjustments to these orbits demanded by relativity. Even physicists call Sommerfeld’s success a ‘miracle’, which rather makes a joke of the so-called ‘no miracles argument’. However, this can all be turned around. Here I argue that the realist has a story to tell vis-à-vis the discontinuities between the old and the new theory, leading to a realist defence based on sufficient continuity of relevant structure. 1. Introduction2. No Realist Commitment Required?3. Enter the Physicists4. A New Approach to the Non-relativistic Success5. Relativity and Spin6. Structure and Realist Commitment7. Conclusion Introduction No Realist Commitment Required? Enter the Physicists A New Approach to the Non-relativistic Success Relativity and Spin Structure and Realist Commitment Conclusion

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解除对科学实在论的终极历史挑战

可能对科学现实主义最具戏剧性的历史挑战涉及阿诺德·索末菲 (Arnold Sommerfeld) ([1916]) 对氢精细结构能级的推导。不仅他的预测很好，而且他推导出了完全相同的公式，该公式后来从狄拉克 1928 年的处理中退出（使用 1925 年薛定谔-海森堡量子力学不可能实现的）。然而，索末菲理论的最核心要素甚至都不是近似正确的：他的推导严重依赖于椭圆轨道的经典方法，包括相对论要求对这些轨道进行必要的调整。就连物理学家也称索末菲的成功为“奇迹”，这简直是在拿所谓的“没有奇迹的论点”开玩笑。然而，这一切都是可以扭转的。在这里，我认为现实主义者有一个故事来讲述新旧理论之间的不连续性，从而导致基于相关结构足够连续性的现实主义辩护。1. 介绍 2. 不需要现实主义的承诺？ 3。进入物理学家4。非相对论成功的新方法5。相对论和自旋6。结构和现实主义承诺7。结论 引言 不需要现实主义的承诺？进入物理学家 非相对论成功的新方法 相对论和自旋结构和现实主义承诺结论 结构和现实主义承诺7。结论 引言 不需要现实主义的承诺？进入物理学家 非相对论成功的新方法 相对论和自旋结构和现实主义承诺结论 结构和现实主义承诺7。结论 引言 不需要现实主义的承诺？进入物理学家 非相对论成功的新方法 相对论和自旋结构和现实主义承诺结论