1
Ph.D. Candidate of philosophy of science and technology, Sharif University of Technology
2
Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Science, Sharif University of Technology
10.30465/ps.2026.55257.1844
Abstract
Bas van Fraassen, the distinguished philosopher of science, was awarded the Rolf Schock Prize in 2026 for developing a compelling empiricist stance toward science that has decisively moved beyond logical empiricism and shaped the debate on scientific realism. The Rolf Schock Prize stands as one of the most prestigious academic awards in fields lacking a Nobel Prize—including logic and philosophy—and is bestowed biennially by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. This article aims to trace the intellectual trajectory of van Fraassen within his overarching project of "purifying science from metaphysics" by reviewing his seminal works from formal logic to the philosophy of physics. The core of this project is constructive empiricism, which reduces the aim of science to "empirical adequacy" and limits the acceptance of theories to belief in this adequacy, without committing to the literal truth of unobservable entities. In the next step, van Fraassen criticizes the concept of laws of nature as a metaphysical heritage from the seventeenth century and proposes symmetry as a methodological guide free from ontological commitments. The modal interpretation of quantum mechanics, the voluntarist epistemology in The Empirical Stance, and the pragmatic theory of representation in Scientific Representation constitute subsequent links in this intellectual chain. Finally, it is argued that van Fraassen's de-metaphysicization of science stems not from skepticism, but from a deliberate strategy to safeguard the domain of faith and to open space for religious experience alongside scientific rationality. By focusing on van Fraassen's most influential works, this article offers a coherent picture of one of the most significant anti-realist alternatives in contemporary philosophy of science.
Ansarian, Z. & Akbari Takhtameshlou, J. (2026). From Constructive Empiricism to Voluntarism: A Review of the Intellectual Legacy of Bas van Fraassen, Winner of the 2026 Rolf Schock Prize. (e14207). Philosophy of Science, 16(1), e14207 https://doi.org/10.30465/ps.2026.55257.1844
MLA
Ansarian, Z., & Akbari Takhtameshlou, J. "From Constructive Empiricism to Voluntarism: A Review of the Intellectual Legacy of Bas van Fraassen, Winner of the 2026 Rolf Schock Prize" .e14207 , Philosophy of Science, 16, 1, 2026, e14207. doi: 10.30465/ps.2026.55257.1844
HARVARD
Ansarian Z., Akbari Takhtameshlou J. (2026). 'From Constructive Empiricism to Voluntarism: A Review of the Intellectual Legacy of Bas van Fraassen, Winner of the 2026 Rolf Schock Prize', Philosophy of Science, 16(1), e14207. doi: 10.30465/ps.2026.55257.1844
CHICAGO
Z. Ansarian & J. Akbari Takhtameshlou, "From Constructive Empiricism to Voluntarism: A Review of the Intellectual Legacy of Bas van Fraassen, Winner of the 2026 Rolf Schock Prize," Philosophy of Science, 16 1 (2026): e14207, doi: 10.30465/ps.2026.55257.1844
VANCOUVER
Ansarian Z., Akbari Takhtameshlou J. From Constructive Empiricism to Voluntarism: A Review of the Intellectual Legacy of Bas van Fraassen, Winner of the 2026 Rolf Schock Prize. Philosophy of Science. 2026;16(1):e14207 (In Persian). doi: 10.30465/ps.2026.55257.1844