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Author: Daniela M. Bailer-Jones
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Pre
ISBN: 0822971232
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 252
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Book Description
Scientists have used models for hundreds of years as a means of describing phenomena and as a basis for further analogy. In Scientific Models in Philosophy of Science, Daniela Bailer-Jones assembles an original and comprehensive philosophical analysis of how models have been used and interpreted in both historical and contemporary contexts. Bailer-Jones delineates the many forms models can take (ranging from equations to animals; from physical objects to theoretical constructs), and how they are put to use. She examines early mechanical models employed by nineteenth-century physicists such as Kelvin and Maxwell, describes their roots in the mathematical principles of Newton and others, and compares them to contemporary mechanistic approaches. Bailer-Jones then views the use of analogy in the late nineteenth century as a means of understanding models and to link different branches of science. She reveals how analogies can also be models themselves, or can help to create them. The first half of the twentieth century saw little mention of models in the literature of logical empiricism. Focusing primarily on theory, logical empiricists believed that models were of temporary importance, flawed, and awaiting correction. The later contesting of logical empiricism, particularly the hypothetico-deductive account of theories, by philosophers such as Mary Hesse, sparked a renewed interest in the importance of models during the 1950s that continues to this day. Bailer-Jones analyzes subsequent propositions of: models as metaphors; Kuhn's concept of a paradigm; the Semantic View of theories; and the case study approaches of Cartwright and Morrison, among others. She then engages current debates on topics such as phenomena versus data, the distinctions between models and theories, the concepts of representation and realism, and the discerning of falsities in models.
Author: Daniela M. Bailer-Jones
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Pre
ISBN: 0822971232
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 252
Get Book
Book Description
Scientists have used models for hundreds of years as a means of describing phenomena and as a basis for further analogy. In Scientific Models in Philosophy of Science, Daniela Bailer-Jones assembles an original and comprehensive philosophical analysis of how models have been used and interpreted in both historical and contemporary contexts. Bailer-Jones delineates the many forms models can take (ranging from equations to animals; from physical objects to theoretical constructs), and how they are put to use. She examines early mechanical models employed by nineteenth-century physicists such as Kelvin and Maxwell, describes their roots in the mathematical principles of Newton and others, and compares them to contemporary mechanistic approaches. Bailer-Jones then views the use of analogy in the late nineteenth century as a means of understanding models and to link different branches of science. She reveals how analogies can also be models themselves, or can help to create them. The first half of the twentieth century saw little mention of models in the literature of logical empiricism. Focusing primarily on theory, logical empiricists believed that models were of temporary importance, flawed, and awaiting correction. The later contesting of logical empiricism, particularly the hypothetico-deductive account of theories, by philosophers such as Mary Hesse, sparked a renewed interest in the importance of models during the 1950s that continues to this day. Bailer-Jones analyzes subsequent propositions of: models as metaphors; Kuhn's concept of a paradigm; the Semantic View of theories; and the case study approaches of Cartwright and Morrison, among others. She then engages current debates on topics such as phenomena versus data, the distinctions between models and theories, the concepts of representation and realism, and the discerning of falsities in models.
Author: Philip Gerlee
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319270818
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 96
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Book Description
A zebrafish, the hull of a miniature ship, a mathematical equation and a food chain - what do these things have in common? They are examples of models used by scientists to isolate and study particular aspects of the world around us. This book begins by introducing the concept of a scientific model from an intuitive perspective, drawing parallels to mental models and artistic representations. It then recounts the history of modelling from the 16th century up until the present day. The iterative process of model building is described and discussed in the context of complex models with high predictive accuracy versus simpler models that provide more of a conceptual understanding. To illustrate the diversity of opinions within the scientific community, we also present the results of an interview study, in which ten scientists from different disciplines describe their views on modelling and how models feature in their work. Lastly, it includes a number of worked examples that span different modelling approaches and techniques. It provides a comprehensive introduction to scientific models and shows how models are constructed and used in modern science. It also addresses the approach to, and the culture surrounding modelling in different scientific disciplines. It serves as an inspiration for model building and also facilitates interdisciplinary collaborations by showing how models are used in different scientific fields. The book is aimed primarily at students in the sciences and engineering, as well as students at teacher training colleges but will also appeal to interested readers wanting to get an overview of scientific modelling in general and different modelling approaches in particular.
Author: Myint Swe Khine
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400704496
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 292
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Book Description
The process of developing models, known as modeling, allows scientists to visualize difficult concepts, explain complex phenomena and clarify intricate theories. In recent years, science educators have greatly increased their use of modeling in teaching, especially real-time dynamic modeling, which is central to a scientific investigation. Modeling in science teaching is being used in an array of fields, everything from primary sciences to tertiary chemistry to college physics, and it is sure to play an increasing role in the future of education. Models and Modeling: Cognitive Tools for Scientific Enquiry is a comprehensive introduction to the use of models and modeling in science education. It identifies and describes many different modeling tools and presents recent applications of modeling as a cognitive tool for scientific enquiry.
Author: Stephen M. Downes
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317298063
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 115
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Book Description
Biologists, climate scientists, and economists all rely on models to move their work forward. In this book, Stephen M. Downes explores the use of models in these and other fields to introduce readers to the various philosophical issues that arise in scientific modeling. Readers learn that paying attention to models plays a crucial role in appraising scientific work. This book first presents a wide range of models from a number of different scientific disciplines. After assembling some illustrative examples, Downes demonstrates how models shed light on many perennial issues in philosophy of science and in philosophy in general. Reviewing the range of views on how models represent their targets introduces readers to the key issues in debates on representation, not only in science but in the arts as well. Also, standard epistemological questions are cast in new and interesting ways when readers confront the question, "What makes for a good (or bad) model?" All examples from the sciences and positions in the philosophy of science are presented in an accessible manner. The book is suitable for undergraduates with minimal experience in philosophy and an introductory undergraduate experience in science. Key features: The book serves as a highly accessible philosophical introduction to models and modeling in the sciences, presenting all philosophical and scientific issues in a nontechnical manner. Students and other readers learn to practice philosophy of science by starting with clear examples taken directly from the sciences. While not comprehensive, this book introduces the reader to a wide range of views on key issues in the philosophy of science.
Author: Sidney Yip
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402097417
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 396
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Book Description
Although computational modeling and simulation of material deformation was initiated with the study of structurally simple materials and inert environments, there is an increasing demand for predictive simulation of more realistic material structure and physical conditions. In particular, it is recognized that applied mechanical force can plausibly alter chemical reactions inside materials or at material interfaces, though the fundamental reasons for this chemomechanical coupling are studied in a material-speci c manner. Atomistic-level s- ulations can provide insight into the unit processes that facilitate kinetic reactions within complex materials, but the typical nanosecond timescales of such simulations are in contrast to the second-scale to hour-scale timescales of experimentally accessible or technologically relevant timescales. Further, in complex materials these key unit processes are “rare events” due to the high energy barriers associated with those processes. Examples of such rare events include unbinding between two proteins that tether biological cells to extracellular materials [1], unfolding of complex polymers, stiffness and bond breaking in amorphous glass bers and gels [2], and diffusive hops of point defects within crystalline alloys [3].
Author: L. Magnani
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461548136
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 339
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Book Description
The volume is based on the papers that were presented at the Interna tional Conference Model-Based Reasoning in Scientific Discovery (MBR'98), held at the Collegio Ghislieri, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy, in December 1998. The papers explore how scientific thinking uses models and explanatory reasoning to produce creative changes in theories and concepts. The study of diagnostic, visual, spatial, analogical, and temporal rea soning has demonstrated that there are many ways of performing intelligent and creative reasoning that cannot be described with the help only of tradi tional notions of reasoning such as classical logic. Traditional accounts of scientific reasoning have restricted the notion of reasoning primarily to de ductive and inductive arguments. Understanding the contribution of model ing practices to discovery and conceptual change in science requires ex panding scientific reasoning to include complex forms of creative reasoning that are not always successful and can lead to incorrect solutions. The study of these heuristic ways of reasoning is situated at the crossroads of philoso phy, artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, and logic; that is, at the heart of cognitive science. There are several key ingredients common to the various forms of model based reasoning to be considered in this book. The models are intended as in terpretations of target physical systems, processes, phenomena, or situations. The models are retrieved or constructed on the basis of potentially satisfying salient constraints of the target domain.
Author: Emiliano Ippoliti
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319281631
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 253
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Book Description
The book answers long-standing questions on scientific modeling and inference across multiple perspectives and disciplines, including logic, mathematics, physics and medicine. The different chapters cover a variety of issues, such as the role models play in scientific practice; the way science shapes our concept of models; ways of modeling the pursuit of scientific knowledge; the relationship between our concept of models and our concept of science. The book also discusses models and scientific explanations; models in the semantic view of theories; the applicability of mathematical models to the real world and their effectiveness; the links between models and inferences; and models as a means for acquiring new knowledge. It analyzes different examples of models in physics, biology, mathematics and engineering. Written for researchers and graduate students, it provides a cross-disciplinary reference guide to the notion and the use of models and inferences in science.
Author: Eric Winsberg
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009033972
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 82
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Book Description
This Element introduces the philosophical literature on models, with an emphasis on normative considerations relevant to models for decision-making. Chapter 1 gives an overview of core questions in the philosophy of modeling. Chapter 2 examines the concept of model adequacy for purpose, using three examples of models from the atmospheric sciences to describe how this sort of adequacy is determined in practice. Chapter 3 explores the significance of using models that are not adequate for purpose, including the purpose of informing public decisions. Chapter 4 provides a basic framework for values in modelling, using a case study to highlight the ethical challenges in building models for decision making. It concludes by establishing the need for strategies to manage value judgments in modelling, including the potential for public participation in the process.
Author: John Pilch
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004496971
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 448
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Book Description
Fourteen members of The Context Group honor Bruce J. Malina and his scholarship in this volume by following his consistent example of developing or using explicit social scientific models to interpret documents from the ancient Mediterranean world. Ordinary features of that cultural world such as gossip, reciprocity, a pervasive military presence, the power of women, and becoming a follower of Jesus stand out with greater clarity in the Bible when a reader understands the cultural matrix in which such social dynamics function. These essays reflect The Context Group’s more than twenty years of collaborative experience in researching the cultural context of the Bible. New insights are built on the solidly established foundations of their earlier cross-cultural studies. Readers will find the individual essays enlightening and challenging. Taken as a whole they form a valuable resource and a stimulating and helpful aid to further study.
Author: Inge S. Helland
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814280860
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 276
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Book Description
Culture, in fact, also plays an important role in science which is, per se, a multitude of different cultures. The book attempts to build a bridge across three cultures: mathematical statistics, quantum theory and chemometrical methods. Of course, these three domains should not be taken as equals in any sense. But the book holds the important claim that it is possible to develop a common language which, at least to a certain extent, can create direct links and build bridges. From this point of departure, the book will be of interest to the following three types of scientists OCo statisticians, quantum physicists and chemometricians OCo and in particular, statisticians and physicists who are interested in interdisciplinary research. Written at a level that is accessible to general readers, not only the academics, the book will appeal to graduate students and mathematically educated persons of all disciplines as well as philosophers, pure and applied mathematicians, and the general public. Sample Chapter(s). Chapter 1: The Basic Elements (1,433 KB). Contents: The Basic Elements; Statistical Theory and Practice; Statistical Inference Under Symmetry; The Transition from Statistics to Quantum Theory; Quantum Mechanics from a Statistical Basis; Further Development of Quantum Mechanics; Decisions in Statistics; Multivariate Data Analysis and Statistics; Quantum Mechanics and the Diversity of Concepts. Readership: Graduate students and researchers in the field of statistics and mathematical physics."
