Modelling molecules: Beyond the epistemic-pragmatic dichotomy

Abstract

I argue that scientific explanation has a pragmatic dimension that is epistemically relevant. Philosophers with an objectivist approach to scientific explanation (e.g. Hempel, Trout) hold that the pragmatic aspects of explanation do not have any epistemic import. I argue against this view by focusing on the role of models in scientific explanation. Applying recent accounts of modelling (Cartwright, Morgan and Morrison) to a case-study of nineteenth-century physics, I analyse the pragmatic dimension of the process of model construction. I highlight the crucial roles that conceptual tools, skills, and commitments play in this dimension, and show how they contribute to the epistemic aim of science.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,616

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

  • Only published works are available at libraries.

Similar books and articles

Discussion note: Making sense of understanding.Henk W. de Regt - 2004 - Philosophy of Science 71 (1):98-109.
Explanation and modelization in a comprehensive inferential account.Donato-Rodríguez Xavieder & Zamora-Bonilla Jesús - 2009 - In Henk W. de Regt, Stephan Hartmann & Okasha Samir (eds.), EPSA Philosophy of Science: Amsterdam 2009.
The Pragmatic Character of Explanation.Peter Achinstein - 1984 - PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association 1984:275 - 292.
The epistemic value of understanding.Henk W. de Regt - 2009 - Philosophy of Science 76 (5):585-597.

Analytics

Added to PP
2009-01-28

Downloads
60 (#241,199)

6 months
1 (#1,042,085)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Henk W. de Regt
Radboud University

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references