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Modelling Nature: An Opinionated Introduction to Scientific Representation (Synthese Library #427)
by Roman Frigg James NguyenThis monograph offers a critical introduction to current theories of how scientific models represent their target systems. Representation is important because it allows scientists to study a model to discover features of reality. The authors provide a map of the conceptual landscape surrounding the issue of scientific representation, arguing that it consists of multiple intertwined problems. They provide an encyclopaedic overview of existing attempts to answer these questions, and they assess their strengths and weaknesses. The book also presents a comprehensive statement of their alternative proposal, the DEKI account of representation, which they have developed over the last few years. They show how the account works in the case of material as well as non-material models; how it accommodates the use of mathematics in scientific modelling; and how it sheds light on the relation between representation in science and art. The issue of representation has generated a sizeable literature, which has been growing fast in particular over the last decade. This makes it hard for novices to get a handle on the topic because so far there is no book-length introduction that would guide them through the discussion. Likewise, researchers may require a comprehensive review that they can refer to for critical evaluations. This book meets the needs of both groups.
Models and Idealizations in Science: Artifactual and Fictional Approaches (Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science #50)
by Alejandro Cassini Juan RedmondThis book provides both an introduction to the philosophy of scientific modeling and a contribution to the discussion and clarification of two recent philosophical conceptions of models: artifactualism and fictionalism. These can be viewed as different stances concerning the standard representationalist account of scientific models. By better understanding these two alternative views, readers will gain a deeper insight into what a model is as well as how models function in different sciences.Fictionalism has been a traditional epistemological stance related to antirealist construals of laws and theories, such as instrumentalism and inferentialism. By contrast, the more recent fictional view of models holds that scientific models must be conceived of as the same kind of entities as literary characters and places. This approach is essentially an answer to the ontological question concerning the nature of models, which in principle is not incompatible with a representationalist account of the function of models. The artifactual view of models is an approach according to which scientific models are epistemic artifacts, whose main function is not to represent the phenomena but rather to provide epistemic access to them. It can be conceived of as a non-representationalist and pragmatic account of modeling, which does not intend to focus on the ontology of models but rather on the ways they are built and used for different purposes. The different essays address questions such as the artifactual view of idealization, the use of information theory to elucidate the concepts of abstraction and idealization, the deidealization of models, the nature of scientific fictions, the structural account of representation and the ontological status of structures, the role of surrogative reasoning with models, and the use of models for explaining and predicting physical phenomena.
Models and Inferences in Science
by Emiliano Ippoliti Fabio Sterpetti Thomas NicklesThe book answers long-standing questions on scientific modeling andinference across multiple perspectives and disciplines, including logic,mathematics, physics and medicine. The different chapters cover a variety ofissues, such as the role models play in scientific practice; the way scienceshapes our concept of models; ways of modeling the pursuit of scientificknowledge; the relationship between our concept of models and our concept ofscience. The book also discusses models and scientific explanations; models inthe semantic view of theories; the applicability of mathematical models to thereal world and their effectiveness; the links between models and inferences;and models as a means for acquiring new knowledge. It analyzes differentexamples of models in physics, biology, mathematics and engineering. Writtenfor researchers and graduate students, it provides a cross-disciplinaryreference guide to the notion and the use of models and inferences in science.
Models and Modeling in the Sciences: A Philosophical Introduction
by Stephen M. DownesBiologists, 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.
Models and Theories: A Philosophical Inquiry
by Roman FriggModels and theories are of central importance in science, and scientists spend substantial amounts of time building, testing, comparing and revising models and theories. It is therefore not surprising that the nature of scientific models and theories has been a widely debated topic within the philosophy of science for many years. The product of two decades of research, this book provides an accessible yet critical introduction to the debates about models and theories within analytical philosophy of science since the 1920s. Roman Frigg surveys and discusses key topics and questions, including: What are theories? What are models? And how do models and theories relate to each other? The linguistic view of theories (also known as the syntactic view of theories), covering different articulations of the view, its use of models, the theory-observation divide and the theory-ladenness of observation, and the meaning of theoretical terms. The model-theoretical view of theories (also known as the semantic view of theories), covering its analysis of the model-world relationship, the internal structure of a theory, and the ontology of models. Scientific representation, discussing analogy, idealisation and different accounts of representation. Modelling in scientific practice, examining how models relate to theories and what models are, classifying different kinds of models, and investigating how robustness analysis, perspectivism, and approaches committed to uncertainty-management deal with multi-model situations. Models and Theories is the first comprehensive book-length treatment of the topic, making it essential reading for advanced undergraduates, researchers, and professional philosophers working in philosophy of science and philosophy of technology. It will also be of interest to philosophically minded readers working in physics, computer sciences and STEM fields more broadly.
Models.Behaving.Badly.
by Emanuel DermanEmanuel Derman was a quantitative analyst (Quant) at Goldman Sachs, one of the financial engineers whose mathematical models usurped traders' intuition on Wall Street. The reliance traders put on such quantitative analysis was catastrophic for the economy, setting off the series of financial crises that began to erupt in 2007 with the mortgage crisis and from which we're still recovering. Here Derman looks at why people--bankers in particular--still put so much faith in these models, and why it's a terrible mistake to do so.Though financial models imitate the style of physics by using the language of mathematics, ultimately they deal with human beings. Their similarity confuses the fundamental difference between the aims and possible achievements of the phsyics world and that of the financial world. When we make a model involving human beings, we are trying to force the ugly stepsister's foot into Cinderella's pretty glass slipper. It doesn't fit without cutting off some of the essential parts. Physicists and economists have been too enthusiastic to recognize the limits of their equations in the sphere of human behavior--which of course is what economics is all about. Models.Behaving.Badly includes a personal account Derman's childhood encounter with failed models--the utopia of the kibbutz, his experience as a physicist on Wall Street, and a look at the models quants generated: the benefits they brought and the problems they caused. Derman takes a close look at what a model is, and then he highlights the differences between the success of modeling in physics and its relative failure in economics. Describing the collapse of the subprime mortgage CDO market in 2007, Derman urges us to stop relying on these models where possible, and offers suggestions for mending these models where they might still do some good. This is a fascinating, lyrical, and very human look behind the curtain at the intersection between mathematics and human nature.
Models, Mindsets, Meta: Essays Dedicated to Bernhard Steffen on the Occasion of His 60th Birthday (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #11200)
by Tiziana Margaria Susanne Graf Kim G. LarsenThis Festschrift volume is published in honor of Bernhard Steffen, Professor at the Technical University of Dortmund, on the occasion of his 60th birthday. His vision as well as his theoretical and practical work span the development and implementation of novel, specific algorithms, and the establishment of cross-community relationships with the effect to obtain simpler, yet more powerful solutions. He initiated many new lines of research through seminal papers that pioneered various fields, starting with the Concurrency Workbench, a model checking toolbox that significantly influenced the research and development of mode based high assurance systems worldwide. The contributions in this volume reflect the breadth and impact of his work. The introductory paper by the volume editors, the 23 full papers and two personal statements relate to Bernhard’s research and life. This volume, the talks and the entire B-Day at ISoLA 2018 are a tribute to the first 30 years of Bernhard’s passion, impact and vision for many facets of computer science in general and for formal methods in particular. Impact and vision include the many roles that formal methods-supported software development should play in education, in industry and in society.
Models of Communication: Theoretical and Philosophical Approaches (Routledge Studies in European Communication Research and Education)
by Mats Bergman K 281 Stas Kirtiklis Johan SiebersComplementing earlier efforts to scrutinize the uses of models in the field of media and communication studies, this volume reassesses old perspectives and delineates new theoretical options for communication inquiry. It is the first book to undertake a philosophical investigation of the significance of modelling in the study of the varying phenomena, processes, and practices of communication. By homing in on the manifestations and purposes of modelling in ordinary discourses on communication as well as in theoretical expositions, the essays collected in this book cast new light on the importance of models for communication inquiry. This volume challenges received view of communication models as mere diagrams and opens up new paths of conceptual inquiry in communication research.
The Models of Engaged Learning and Teaching: Connecting Sophisticated Thinking from Early Childhood to PhD (SpringerBriefs in Education)
by John WillisonThis book provides a practical philosophy for promoting students' sophisticated thinking from Early Childhood to PhD in ways that explicitly interconnect across the years of education. It will help teachers, academics and the broader learning and teaching community to understand and implement these connections by introducing a conceptual framework, the Models of Engaged Learning and Teaching (MELT). By covering the nature, philosophy, practice and implications of MELT for teachers and students alike, the book will help teachers to facilitate students’ awareness of, and increasing responsibility for, the thinking demanded by subject and discipline-specific learning as well as interdisciplinary learning, whether face to face, online or in blended modes. The book will also provide educators with ways to effectively engage with complex, and sometimes conflicting, contemporary educational concepts, and with a diverse variety of colleagues involved in the learning and teaching enterprise.The book provides guidance that allows curriculum improvement, teacher action research and larger-scale research to be reported on from a common perspective, bridging the gap between those readers focused on research and those focused on teaching. The book shares valuable insights and ways of addressing the contemporary issue of discipline-based learning versus transdisciplinary learning, reducing the dichotomy and enabling the two approaches to complement each other.This is an Open Access book.
Models of God and Alternative Ultimate Realities
by Jeanine Diller Asa KasherThe envisioned volume is a collection of recent essays about the philosophical exploration, critique and comparison of (a) the major philosophical models of God, gods and other ultimate realities implicit in the world's philosophical schools and religions, and of (b) the ideas of such models and doing such modeling per se. The aim is to identify exactly what a model of ultimate reality is; create a comprehensive and accessible collection of extant models; and determine how best, philosophically, to model ultimate reality, if possible and desirable.
Models of Man
by Martin HollisAll social theorists and philosophers who seek to explain human action have a 'model of man'; a metaphysical view of human nature that requires its own theory of scientific knowledge. In this influential book, Martin Hollis examines the tensions that arise from the differing views of sociologists, economists and psychologists. He then develops a rationalist model of his own which connects personal and social identity through a theory of rational action and a priori knowledge, allowing humans to both act freely and still be a subject for scientific explanation. Presented in a fresh series livery and including a specially commissioned preface written by Geoffrey Hawthorn, Hollis's important work is made available to a new generation of readers.
Models of Man: Explorations in the Western Educational Tradition
by Paul NashThis book has a single motif and a dual purpose. Its motif is the portrayal of a number of the most influential models of the educated person that have been created as part of the Western cultural tradition. This motif is not meant to be exhaustive but is presented as one way in which that tradition might be plumbed. The purposes are to engender in the reader a broad knowledge of some of the dominant and persistent ideas and problems inherent in his own intellectual tradition; and to stimulate him to go further into the original sources of this tradition in search of meanings and insights that are uniquely relevant to his own educational development.
Models of Strategic Reasoning
by Johan Van Benthem Sujata Ghosh Rineke VerbruggeStrategic behavior is the key to social interaction, from the ever-evolving world of living beings to the modern theatre of designed computational agents. Strategies can make or break participants' aspirations, whether they are selling a house, playing the stock market, or working toward a treaty that limits global warming. This book aims at understanding the phenomenon of strategic behavior in its proper width and depth. A number of experts have combined forces in order to create a comparative view of the different frameworks for strategic reasoning in social interactions that have been developed in game theory, computer science, logic, linguistics, philosophy, and cognitive and social sciences. The chapters are organized in three topic-based sections, namely reasoning about games; formal frameworks for strategies; and strategies in social situations. The book concludes with a discussion on the future of logical studies of strategies.
Models of Teaching
by Bruce Joyce Emily CalhounThis fully updated edition of a classic text explores established approaches to teaching that are grounded in research and experience to ensure high levels of learning.Models of Teaching combines rationale and research with real-life examples and applications in the classroom, showing how teachers professional learning communities, and school faculties can improve student attainment. The volume contains the major psychological and philosophical approaches to teaching and schooling, including thoroughly documented research on the models of teaching and their effects on student success, and offers teachers the tools to accelerate student learning. Features include: three completely new chapters covering the origins of models in teaching, explicit strategy instruction and metacognition for teaching reading comprehension, and best practices for teachers coaching other teachers, expanding instruction, and supporting school renewal; scenarios for each model to explore the concepts in action; discussions of research relevant to each model throughout the text; advice from the authors about the use of the models in teaching; support for incorporating the language arts and science standards and supporting STEM instruction. With the aim of providing a strong impact on student achievement while keeping in line with the current emphasis on standards-based education, this classic resource will be essential reading for pre-service and new teachers as well as current teaching professionals.This text is supported by extensive multimedia materials, including video demonstrations of the models in action, PowerPoint slides and an Instructor’s Manual, available at www.modelsofteaching.org.
Models of the History of Philosophy: Volume IV: The Hegelian Age (International Archives of the History of Ideas Archives internationales d'histoire des idées #235)
by Gregorio Piaia Giuseppe Micheli Giovanni SantinelloThis is the fourth volume of Models of the History of Philosophy, a collaborative work on the history of the history of philosophy dating from the Renaissance to the end of the nineteenth century. The volume covers the so-called Hegelian age, in which the approach to the past of philosophy is placed at the foundation of “doing philosophy”, up to identifying with the same philosophy. A philosophy which is however understood in a different way: as dialectical development, as hermeneutics, as organic development, as eclectic option, as a philosophy of experience, as a progressive search for truth through the repetition of errors… The material is divided into four large linguistic and cultural areas: the German, French, Italian and British. It offers the detailed analysis of 10 particularly significant works of the way of conceiving and reconstructing the “general” history of philosophy, from its origins to the contemporary age. This systematic exposure is preceded and accompanied by lengthy introductions on the historical background and references to numerous other works bordering on philosophical historiography.
Models of the History of Philosophy
by Giovanni Santinello Gregorio PiaiaThis volume is the translation of "Dall'età cartesiana a Brucker", the second volume of the multi-volume work "Storia delle storie generali della filosofia". It guides the reader from the Cartesian rejection of the 'philosophical past' that found voice in the work of Malebranche, to the establishment of a 'critical' history of philosophy by 18th century thinkers A.-F Boureau-Deslandes and J.J. Brucker. The latter pair investigated philosophy from its most ancient origins up to the contemporary age, and oversaw the transformation of the history of philosophy into a genre in its own right, thus spawning dozens of works that made a major contribution to the culture of the Enlightenment. Through careful analysis of more than 36 separate works, the authors show how in the span of a single century the theoretical and methodological techniques used to assess the history of philosophy were refined and developed.
Models of the Human in Twentieth-Century Linguistic Theories: System, Order, Creativity
by Feifei ZhouThis book provides a refreshingly new perspective for investigating linguistic texts, which foregrounds models of the human. It presents a close reading of major linguistic theories in the twentieth century with a focus on three main themes: linguistic system and the individual speaker; social order; and linguistic creativity. The examination of these three fundamental themes concerning language and human nature, on the one hand, provides a fine-textured exposition on the implicit and explicit models of human nature endorsed by major theorists; on the other, it reveals the methodological dilemmas faced by linguistics. In light of the fact that the importance of considering posthumanist ideas is increasingly being underscored today, both within and outside linguistics, this focus on the human makes the book highly topical.
Models of Time and Space from Astrophysics and World Cultures: The Foundations of Astrophysical Reality from Across the Centuries (Astronomers' Universe)
by Bryan E. PenpraseModels of Time and Space from Astrophysics and World Cultures explores how our conceptions of time, space, and the physical universe have evolved across cultures throughout the centuries. Developed with a humanistic approach, this book blends historical sources, biographical profiles of exceptional scientists, and the latest discoveries in both astrophysics and particle physics. This rich read describes the incredible insights and ultimate limits of our knowledge, the physical universe, and how ideas old and new have converged, across the world, to build our current understanding of reality. From the Large Hadron Collider to the James Webb Space Telescope, we have mapped the universe from the smallest to largest scales; allowing us to gain fundamental knowledge that has transformed our understanding of the universe. The chapters herein will teach you about dark matter and dark energy, gravitational waves and other complex parts of the cosmos. Along the way, you will learn a thing or two about quantum mechanics, parallel universes, and the ultimate boundaries of the observable universe. This book cultivates insight from a variety of cultural traditions, including perspectives from both modern and ancient cultures, in order to show how our modern conceptions of space and time have arisen from the ongoing explorations within ancient world civilizations.It is a valuable, intriguing and insightful volume for those interested in the fields of historical astronomy and cultural astronomy, as well as for anyone interested in learning about the latest finds from the field of physics and astrophysics.
Models, Simulations, and Representations (Routledge Studies in the Philosophy of Science)
by Paul Humphreys Cyrille ImbertAlthough scientific models and simulations differ in numerous ways, they are similar in so far as they are posing essentially philosophical problems about the nature of representation. This collection is designed to bring together some of the best work on the nature of representation being done by both established senior philosophers of science and younger researchers. Most of the pieces, while appealing to existing traditions of scientific representation, explore new types of questions, such as: how understanding can be developed within computational science; how the format of representations matters for their use, be it for the purpose of research or education; how the concepts of emergence and supervenience can be further analyzed by taking into account computational science; or how the emphasis upon tractability--a particularly important issue in computational science--sheds new light on the philosophical analysis of scientific reasoning.
A Model–Theoretic Approach to Proof Theory (Trends in Logic #51)
by Henryk KotlarskiThis book presents a detailed treatment of ordinal combinatorics of large sets tailored for independence results. It uses model theoretic and combinatorial methods to obtain results in proof theory, such as incompleteness theorems or a description of the provably total functions of a theory.In the first chapter, the authors first discusses ordinal combinatorics of finite sets in the style of Ketonen and Solovay. This provides a background for an analysis of subsystems of Peano Arithmetic as well as for combinatorial independence results. Next, the volume examines a variety of proofs of Gödel's incompleteness theorems. The presented proofs differ strongly in nature. They show various aspects of incompleteness phenomena. In additon, coverage introduces some classical methods like the arithmetized completeness theorem, satisfaction predicates or partial satisfaction classes. It also applies them in many contexts. The fourth chapter defines the method of indicators for obtaining independence results. It shows what amount of transfinite induction we have in fragments of Peano arithmetic. Then, it uses combinatorics of large sets of the first chapter to show independence results. The last chapter considers nonstandard satisfaction classes. It presents some of the classical theorems related to them. In particular, it covers the results by S. Smith on definability in the language with a satisfaction class and on models without a satisfaction class. Overall, the book's content lies on the border between combinatorics, proof theory, and model theory of arithmetic. It offers readers a distinctive approach towards independence results by model-theoretic methods.
Modern Anti-Realism and Manufactured Truth (Routledge Revivals)
by Gerald A. VisionFirst published in 1988, Modern Anti-Realism and Manufactured Truth examines the forms of anti-realism which have sprouted in analytic philosophy and addresses more directly the grander culture of anti-realism. No attempt is made in these pages to demonstrate the existence of a mind independent world. Part one of the book is devoted to a clarification and defense of Correspondence. In chapter 2, Correspondence is refined by distinguishing what is critical to it from other tenets with which philosophical debate has burdened it. Next in chapter 3, author looks at some of the most common complaints against Correspondence, as well as a novel objection propounded by Hillary Putnam. Chapter 4 deals with the two most prominent alternative truth theories- Coherence and Pragmatism. Chapter 5 details a version of Correspondence. Part two of the book considers not standard theories of truth, but theories in which truth is epistemologized. Chapter 6 begins with an overview of certain generalized positions, including relativism about truth but most of the part two is devoted to the examination of three rather individualized attempts to epistemologize truth. The author concludes that once Correspondence is better understood and the genuine insights of these views are clarified, global realism survives intact. This is a must read for students of philosophy, political philosophy.
The Modern Art of Influence and the Spectacle of Oscar Wilde
by S. I. SalamenskySalamensky investigates Oscar Wilde, his contemporaries, and the public frenzy over his work and life as illustrating the crucial importance of performance in the construction of the 'modern' and our own, postmodern, lives.
Modern Biology & Natural Theology
by Alan OldingBy asking how well theological views of human nature stand up to the discoveries of modern science, Alan Olding re-opens the question of whether the "design" argument for the existence of God is fatally undermined. A distinctive feature of the work is its emphasis on the metaphysical implications of biology and how these at times conflict with other, more plausible metaphysical positions. Another is its close critical examination of the "design" argument and of the relation God has to the world he creates. "Modern Biology and Natural Theology" takes up issues currently of concern to many thinkers and will provide fascinating reading for anyone interested in philosophical problems, particularly the impact of Darwinism on natural theology.
Modern Education, Textbooks, and the Image of the Nation: Politics and Modernization and Nationalism in Korean Education: 1880-1910 (East Asia)
by Yoonmi LeeFirst published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Modern Ethics in 77 Arguments: A Stone Reader
by Simon Critchley Peter CatapanoFrom the editors of the widely influential The Stone Reader comes the most thorough and engaging guide to modern ethical thought available. Since 2010, The Stone— an enormously popular column in the New York Times— has interpreted and reinterpreted age-old inquires that speak to our contemporary condition. Having done for modern ethics what The Stone Reader did for modern philosophy, this portable volume features an assortment of essays culled from the archives of an online Times series that has attracted millions of readers through accessible examinations of longstanding topics like consciousness, religious belief, and morality. Presenting the most thorough and accessible guide to modern ethical thought available, New York Times editor Peter Catapano and best-selling philosopher Simon Critchley curate a fascinating culture of debate and deliberation that would have otherwise gone undiscovered. From questions of gun control and drone warfare to the morals of vegetarianism and marriage, this book emancipates ethics from the province of ivory-tower classrooms to become a centerpiece of discussions for years to come.