The modal basis of scientific modelling

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Science
• Scientific Modelling
• Metaphysics

Background:

• Scientific practice frequently employs models with non-actual targets, including hypothetical, idealized, and generalized models.
• This reliance on non-actual targets raises philosophical questions about the ontological commitments of scientific modeling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel framework for understanding scientific models and their targets.
• To argue against the necessity of positing non-actual targets for scientific models.
• To investigate the truthmakers for modal claims derived from scientific models.

Main Methods:

• Developing a theoretical framework where models target networks of possibilities.
• Analyzing the nature of truthmakers for modal claims within this framework.
• Applying the framework to a case study involving the modeling of superheavy elements.

Main Results:

• Models can be understood as targeting networks of possibilities, thus avoiding commitment to non-actual entities.
• Truthmakers for modal claims derived from models can be found in actuality, even for seemingly non-actual targets.
• The framework offers a coherent account of modeling practices involving idealized and hypothetical scenarios.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework provides a robust alternative to traditional accounts of scientific modeling that rely on non-actual targets.
• It offers a unified approach to understanding diverse modeling practices, including those in theoretical physics.
• This re-conceptualization of model targets and truthmakers has significant implications for the philosophy of scientific representation.