CfP: 'Exploratory Models and Exploratory Modelling in Science', Special Issue of Perspectives on Science
THEME: Exploratory Models and Exploratory Modelling in Science
GUEST EDITORS: Axel Gelfert, Grant Fisher, Friedrich Steinle
Unlike scientific
experimentation, whose frequent exploratory uses have garnered
considerable attention from historians and philosophers of science over
the past two decades (cf. Steinle 1997, Burian 1997),
the exploratory character of scientific models and scientific modelling
has only recently begun to receive systematic treatment. (See
references below.) Over the last couple of years, a number of case
studies have deployed the labels ‘exploratory models’ or
‘exploratory modelling’ (e.g. Fisher 2017, Shech & Gelfert 2017,
Gelfert 2018, Carrier & Gölzhäuser 2018, Massimi 2018) to describe
episodes of scientific modelling during which the existence of an
accepted body of theoretical knowledge cannot be assumed,
or is itself at issue. In addition, there have been attempts to
distinguish between, and classify, different exploratory functions of
scientific models (Gelfert 2016), such as their use as starting points
for future inquiry, as proofs of principle (e.g. regarding
the viability of a proposed new method), as potential explanations, and
as ways of testing the suitability and epistemic stability of the
purported target system. Implicit in this taxonomy is the
acknowledgement that any initial list of exploratory uses of
scientific models is likely to be incomplete and itself subject to
revision.
Labelling any episode of
scientific research – including cases of scientific modelling –
‘exploratory’ is intended to convey more than just a sense of its
priority in the chronological order of events. Rather,
the label ‘exploratory’ pertains to a particular mode of doing science:
one that aims at getting a grasp of a phenomenon or scientific problem
in the absence of a well-understood and workable theory of the domain in
question. By contrast, in those cases that
have traditionally received the most attention – especially from
philosophers of science – it is typically assumed that a significant
prior body of theoretical knowledge is available and, in turn, suggests
(not by itself, but in the hands of appropriately
trained scientists) a way of rendering the phenomenon theoretically
tractable, at least in principle. In exploratory research, this
assumption is acknowledged to be no longer tenable. Also, while the term
‘exploratory model’ can be expected to have significant
overlap with related notions (such as ‘toy model’, ‘minimal model’, or
‘substitute model’), it would be hasty to assimilate the former to the
latter: exploration is neither a matter of mere chronology, nor of
degree of abstraction or realism.
The proposed special issue
aims to deepen our appreciation of the extent to which models in the
natural, social, and engineering sciences can serve as exploratory tools
and to sharpen our understanding of what
– beyond their empirical performance – makes some exploratory models
more fruitful than others. Finally, an important concern will be with
the legitimacy and the limitations of exploratory models (and of claims
derived on their basis).
We welcome submissions
that integrate historical, philosophical, and sociological perspectives
and engage with recent scholarship on the matter. The overarching goal
is to foster an interdisciplinary conversation
concerning the character, potential, and limitations of the practice of
exploratory modelling.
Submissions should be sent to
a.gelfert@tu-berlin.de,
no later than 10 September 2018.
Submissions should not
exceed 7,500 words, include a 200-word abstract, be prepared in
accordance with the journal’s formatting guidelines (https://www.
For enquiries, please contact the guest editors.
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Selected references:
- Burian, Richard (1997), Exploratory experimentation and the role of histochemical techniques in the work of Jean Brachet, 1938–1952. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 19(1), 27–45
- Carrier, Martin, and Gölzhäuser, Armin (2018), Understanding phenomena by building models: methodological studies on physical chemistry, in Progress in Science, Progress in Society (ed. A. Tressaud), Springer 2018, 19-36
- Feest, Uljana (2012), Exploratory experiments, concept formation, and theory construction in psychology,in Scientific Concepts and Investigative Practice (eds. U. Feest, F. Steinle), De Gruyter 2012, 167–189
- Fisher, Grant (2017), Diagnostics and the ‘deconstruction’ of models. Phil-Sci Archive philsci-archive.pitt.edu/12573
- Gelfert, Axel (2016), Exploratory uses of scientific models (=Ch. 4 of How to Do Science With Models: A Philosophical Primer), Springer 2016, 71-99
- Gelfert, Axel (2018), Models in search of targets: exploratory modelling and the case of Turing patterns, in Philosophy of Science (eds. A. Christian, D. Hommen, N. Retzlaff, G. Schurz), Springer 2018, 245-271
- Massimi, Michela (2018), Perspectival modeling, Philosophy of Science 85 (July 2018), 335–359
- Shech, Elay, and Gelfert, Axel (2017), The Exploratory Role of Idealizations and Limiting Cases in Models.
PhilSci-Archive philsci-archive.pitt.edu/
13338/ - Steinle, Friedrich (1997), Entering new fields: exploratory uses of experimentation. Philosophy of Science 64 (Proceedings of the PSA1996, Pt. II), S65–S74