Convergent epistemological realism (CER)

Larry Laudan's own coined label (set out with a numbered list of theses, R1–R5, in "A Confutation of Convergent Realism," 1981) for the realist position — roughly, that successive mature scientific theories converge on truth and that their predictive success is evidence their central theoretical claims are approximately true — that his 1981 paper, and the pessimistic induction literature generally, is built to attack. Entered this vault 2026-11-02 as background characterization in a capture about reading Laudan and Lewis at primary; not yet invoked by name in any claim-note. Watching rather than hubbed because the vault's existing realism cluster currently discusses the position without using Laudan's own R1–R5 vocabulary — worth promoting to a full hub if a future note actually works with the numbered theses rather than the general debate.

References

• claim-laudan-1981-list-challenged-as-unrepresentative-since-the-1980s — the position Laudan's list-and-rebuttal paper is aimed at, discussed without the CER label.