Repository | Journal | Volume | Articles
(2018) Synthese 195 (6).
In this paper, I first argue against various attempts to justify idealizations in scientific models that explain by showing that they are harmless and isolable distortions of irrelevant features. In response, I propose a view in which idealized models are characterized as providing holistically distorted representations of their target system(s). I then suggest an alternative way that idealized modeling can be justified by appealing to universality.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/s11229-017-1357-4
Full citation:
Rice, C. (2018). Idealized models, holistic distortions, and universality. Synthese 195 (6), pp. 2795-2819.
This document is unfortunately not available for download at the moment.