Broadening the Perspective: Epistemic, Social, and Historical Aspects of Scientific Modelling

The recognition that models and simulations play a central role in the epistemology of science is about fifteen years old. Although models had long been discussed as possible foundational units in the logical analysis of scientific knowledge, the philosophical study of modelling as a distinct epistemic practice really got going in the wake of the Models as Mediators anthology edited by Margaret Morrison and Mary Morgan (1999). In spite of the broad agreement that in fact much of science is model-based, however, there is still little agreement on pretty much anything else. What are models? Are they representations or fictions, abstract entities or concrete artifacts? Which functions do they play? Can they explain, provide confirmation to hypotheses, or are they mere heuristic devices? If they have independent epistemic power, where does it come from? Moreover, arguments in favor or against alternative positions are often drawn from case studies...