Modeling the Possible: Perspectives from Philosophy of Science

Models are used to explore possibilities across all scientific fields. Climate models simulate the potential future climatic conditions under various emissions scenarios, macroeconomic models investigate the implications of various fiscal and monetary policy initiatives, and infectious diseases models study the spread of viral diseases under a range of conditions. Such modeling approaches have not gone ignored by philosophers of science, but they have only recently started to explicitly address modeling the possible. So far, the discussion has been spread across a variety of more or less isolated pockets of debate in the philosophy of science. Modeling the Possible: Perspectives from Philosophy of Science draws together these studies, focusing specifically on how various modeling practices probe possibilities and justify claims concerning them.

The volume is divided into three sections, plus an introductory chapter. The introductory chapter provides a state-of-the-art survey of the discussions of modeling possibilities within philosophy of science, as well as an introduction to the book’s main themes and individual papers. The three sections focus on different kinds of possibility concepts, possibility spaces, and how-possibly modeling in practical situations. The chapters contained in this volume address conceptual and theoretical issues while also presenting case studies from various scientific domains: physics, evolutionary and synthetic biology, network science, climate science, economics, and epidemiology.

Essential reading for philosophers of science, epistemologists, and modelers in various scientific disciplines, Modeling the Possible is also suitable for anyone interested in model-based scientific inferences, their validity, and the policy conclusions derived from them.

Tarja Knuuttila is a Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Vienna, Austria. Knuuttila’s research focuses on scientific modeling, as well as artifactuality and interdisciplinarity in science. Her philosophical work is practice-oriented, with an emphasis on synthetic biology, engineering sciences, and economics.

Till Grüne-Yanoff is a Professor of Philosophy at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. His research focuses on scientific modeling, decision theory, and behavioral policy. He often collaborates with psychologists, economists, and engineers on these topics.

Rami Koskinen is a Researcher at the University of Vienna, Austria. Koskinen’s research focuses on the general philosophy of science and the philosophy of biology. He has studied especially the epistemology of modal inferences, ranging from scientific modeling to biological engineering.

Ylwa Sjölin Wirling is a Reader in Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and a Pro Futura Scientia Fellow at the Swedish Collegium of Advanced Study. Her research concerns epistemology, philosophy of science, and metaphilosophy. She has worked on epistemological issues pertaining to modality, especially in the contexts of scientific modeling and philosophical inquiry.