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Inference and Representation

Inference and Representation

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$105.00

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Description

The first comprehensive defense of an inferential conception of scientific representation with applications to art and epistemology.  
Mauricio Suárez develops a conception of representation that delivers a compelling account of modeling practice. He begins by discussing the history and methodology of model building, charting the emergence of what he calls the modeling attitude, a nineteenth-century and fin de siècle development. Prominent cases of models, both historical and contemporary, are used as benchmarks for the accounts of representation considered throughout the book. After arguing against reductive naturalist theories of scientific representation, Suárez sets out his own account: a case for pluralism regarding the means of representation and minimalism regarding its constituents. He shows that scientists employ a variety of modeling relations in their representational practice—which helps them to assess the accuracy of their representations—while demonstrating that there is nothing metaphysically deep about the constituent relation that encompasses all these diverse means.
 
The book also probes the broad implications of Suárez’s inferential conception outside scientific modeling itself, covering analogies with debates about artistic representation and philosophical thought over the past several decades. Mauricio Suárez is professor of logic and philosophy of science at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid and a visiting fellow at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge. He is also a research associate of the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science at the London School of Economics. He is the author of Philosophy of Probability and Statistical Modelling. Preface and Acknowledgments
1 Introducing Scientific Representation
Part I Modeling
2 The Modeling Attitude: A Genealogy
3 Models and Their Uses
Part II Representation
4 Theories of Representation
5 Against Substance
6 Scientific Theories and Deflationary Representation
7 Representation as Inference
Part III Implications
8 Lessons from the Philosophy of Art
9 Scientific Epistemology Transformed
Notes
References
Index

“Beautifully bringing together historical and contemporary research on representations in science with themes from aesthetics and the philosophy of art, Suárez’s book is an outstanding interdisciplinary contribution to the philosophy of science. It is essential reading for anyone interested in modeling practices, their connections with the arts, and what this insightful combination of science, art, and practice might bring to the epistemology of science.”
“Suárez has been a leading voice in the philosophy of modeling for the last two decades. This book is a wonderfully clear and compelling presentation of his ‘inferentialist theory of representation.’ The book will be a central resource for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and required reading for every philosopher of science.”
“Suárez has written a brilliant account of the inferential conception of scientific representation, its historical roots, and its application to contemporary scientific modeling. What stands out is his deflationist approach toward metaphysics, the streamlined account in terms of representational force and inferential capacity, and the connection to the phenomenology of artistic perception. A magnificent work.” 
“Inference and Representation makes a strong case for an inferential conception of scientific modeling. It argues that the effectiveness of a model lies in its providing an orientation that facilitates fruitful scientific reasoning. It is a valuable contribution to the literature on modeling.”

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Dimensions 1 × 6 × 9 in