Models and Theories: A Philosophical Inquiry

ISBN-13: 9781844654918 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 256 str.

UK) Frigg Roman (London School of Economics

Opis

As scientists spend a substantial part of their time building, testing, comparing and revising theories or models, it is no surprise that the nature of theories and models is a subject of central importance within the philosophy of science. This book provides a critical survey of, and introduction to, the debates surrounding theories and models.

Spis treści

Preface, Introduction, Part 1, 1. Theory and Language, 2. Models in the Received View, 3. Delineating the Observable, 4. Framing the Theoretical, Part 2, 5. Thinking Through Structures, 6. Representing with Structures, 7. Family Ties, 8. Beyond Structures, Part 3, 9. Reconsidering Representation, 10. Analogy, 11. Abstraction, Approximation, Idealisation, 12. Limit Idealisations and Factor Exclusions, Part 4, 13. Challenging Subordination, 14. What Are Models?, 15. Taming Abundance, 16. The Model Muddle Envoi, Index

O autorze

Roman Frigg is Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. He is the winner of the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and a permanent visiting professor in the Munich Centre for Mathematical Philosophy of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany. His current work focuses on the nature of scientific models and theories, the foundations of statistical mechanics, and decision making under uncertainty.