A pragmatic approach to the ontology of models
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10809780 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Antonis Antoniou (0000-0001-8494-9915, University of Bristol, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 199 |
| Issue | 3-4 |
| Pages | 6645-6664 |
| Publication date | 2021-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Synthese (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0039-7857 • E-ISSN: 1573-0964 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11229-021-03085-9 |
| OpenAlex | W3133970939 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 48 |
What are scientific models? Philosophers of science have been trying to answer this question during the last three decades by putting forward a number of different proposals. Some say that models are best understood as abstract Platonic objects or fictional entities akin to Sherlock Holmes, while others focus on their mathematical nature and see them as set theoretical structures. Although each account has its own strengths in offering various insights on the nature of models, several objections have been raised against these views which still remain unanswered, making the debate on the ontology of models seem unresolvable. The primary aim of this paper is to show that a large part of these difficulties stems from an inappropriate reading of the main question on the ontology of models as a purely metaphysical question. Building on Carnap, it is argued that the question of the ontology of scientific models is either (i) an internal theoretical question within an already accepted linguistic framework or (ii) an external practical question regarding the choice of the most appropriate form of language in order to describe and explain the practice of scientific modelling. The main implication of this view is that the question of the ontology of models becomes a means of probing other related questions regarding the overall practice of scientific modelling, such as questions on the capacity of models to provide knowledge and the relation of models with background theories
Epistemology · Focus (optics) · Metaphysics · Ontology · Order (exchange) · Philosophy of language · Philosophy of science · Relation (database) · Scientific modelling · Scientific theory · Set (abstract data type) · Biomedical Text Mining and Ontologies · Computer Science · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Science and Climate Studies
The logical syntax of language
The philosophy of Peirce
Antirealist Expressivism and Quasi-Realism
Explaining Science
Twilight Of The Perfect Model Model
Quantifiers and Propositional Attitudes
Models as mediating instruments
The strategy of model-based science
Naturalism without representationalism
Ideology and its role in metaphysics
Identity conditions, idealisations and isomorphisms
Living with the abstract
Scientific models and fictional objects
Missing systems and the face value practice
The neo-Carnapians
Models and fiction
A comparison of the meaning and uses of models in mathematics and the empirical sciences
Keeping quiet on the ontology of models
Making worlds with symbols
The ontology of theoretical modelling
Models, Theories, and Structures
An Inferential Conception of Scientific Representation
Main Trends in Recent Philosophy
The scientific image
Debates about the Ontology of Art
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |