Ontological Categorizations and Selection Biases in Cosmology: The Case of Extra Galactic Objects

One of the innovative approaches in contemporary philosophical ontology consists in the assumption of a plurality of ontologies based on different metaphysical presuppositions. Such presuppositions involve, among others, the identification of relevant properties for the objects of our domain as a guiding principle in uncovering what it is to be considered intrinsic and what could be the mere effect of selection preferences based on objective or subjective criteria. A remarkable example of the application of a background metaphysical theory in astrophysics is the problem of selection biases in detecting cosmological objects, such as supernovae, galaxies and gamma-ray bursts. We will show that it is valuable to be aware of the importance of uncovering this type of background theory to better understand selection effects and to promote a novel approach in scientific research.
Author(s): Paolo Valore [sup.1], M. G. Dainotti [sup.2] [sup.3] [sup.4], Oskar Kopczynski [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.4708.b, 0000 0004 1757 2822, Department of Philosophy, University of Milan, , Milan, Italy [...]