More Than Make-Believe
More Than Make-Believe
Fictions, Models, and Reality
Many accounts of scientific modelling define any unrealistic representation as ‘fictional modeling.’ This chapter argues against this view by claiming that fictional models involve a specific type of representation whose physical similarity to the target system is not always obvious. These models often contain structural features they have in common with the target, and show how those features might be conceptualised within the system being modelled. Contrary to the existing account of fictional models, the chapter also claims that no general methodology exists for determining how these models deliver information; it will depend entirely on the specific details of the models themselves. Questions related to the differences between fictional models and the more common use of idealisation and abstraction are also addressed. The role of fictional models is illustrated with a discussion of the development of electrodynamics by James Clerk Maxwell, which had its origins in a fictional model of the ether.
Keywords: electrodynamics, fictions, representation, idealisation, abstraction, James Clerk Maxwell
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