Modeling reality

Christopher Pincock

pp. 19-32

in: Roman Frigg, Stephan Hartmann, Cyrille Imbert (eds), Models and simulations 2, Synthese 180 (1), 2011.

Abstract

My aim in this paper is to articulate an account of scientific modeling that reconciles pluralism about modeling with a modest form of scientific realism. The central claim of this approach is that the models of a given physical phenomenon can present different aspects of the phenomenon. This allows us, in certain special circumstances, to be confident that we are capturing genuine features of the world, even when our modeling occurs independently of a wholly theoretical motivation. This framework is illustrated using a recent debate from meteorology.