Models as epistemic artefacts: Toward a non-representationalist account of scientific representation

Abstract

This study seeks to situate the philosophical discussion on models and scientific representation within the larger context of questioning representation that is taking place in other fields, especially in science and technology studies.It addresses four related questions: (i) What kinds of different reactions there have been to the puzzle of representation?(ii) From where do the seeming epistemological difficulties concerning representation stem?(iii) How can representation be approached in a non-representationalist way? (iv) What kinds of things are models, and how do they give us knowledge?A new artefactual approach to models is advanced that loosens the epistemic value of models from representation and ascribes it instead to their materially embodied constraints and interactive enablings.The thesis draws four additional major conclusions: (1) Our understanding of modelling should not be reduced to models representing some external target systems.Apart from being representative things models are typically also productive things whose workability and experimentability is crucial for their epistemic value.(2) Representation should be approached both from the use and production points of view.(3) From the use point of view representation appears as a two-fold phenomenon that is based both on the medium-specific affordances of the material sign-vehicle and on the intentional process of relating the sign-vehicle to the represented.(4) From the production point of view a major portion of the work of representation that is taking place in sciences concentrates on what is already represented and modelled somehow.Looking at representation from this angle stresses the methods, ingredients and various representative devices that are needed in producing models.The study consists of a contextualising introductory essay and six original research papers.The first two articles deal with more general issues concerning representation.The next four articles study representation in the context of modelling.Common to all of them is the idea that models can be seen as epistemic artefacts.