de Regt, Henk W. (2006) Modelling Molecules: Beyond the Epistemic-Pragmatic Dichotomy. In: UNSPECIFIED.

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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.

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Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED)
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID de Regt, Henk W.
Keywords:	models, explanation, kinetic theory, Maxwell, Boltzmann
Subjects:	General Issues > Models and Idealization General Issues > Explanation Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Depositing User:	Prof. Henk W. de Regt
Date Deposited:	18 Oct 2006
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2010 15:14
Item ID:	2992
Subjects:	General Issues > Models and Idealization General Issues > Explanation Specific Sciences > Physics > Statistical Mechanics/Thermodynamics
Date:	2006
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/2992

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