The Destiny of Atomism in Modern Science and Structural Realism

Abstract

The article deals with Plato’s (mathematical) version of antique atomism which in many respects anticipated the ideas of modern physics. The author connects mathematical atomism with the so-called structural realism – which is now considered by many philosophers of science as the most defensible form of scientific realism. The concept of structural realism has made it possible to undermine the argument of “pessimistic induction” and to bring a significant contribution to the rational reconstruction of the procedure of theory-change. It is supposed that the association of structural realism with Plato’s atomism would make it possible to take out the latter from the sphere of natural philosophy and to place it in the frames of rational discussions on the structure of being.