Matthewson, John (Author)
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
Volume: 42
Pages: 324--333
Edition Details: Part of a special issue, “Model-Based Representation in Scientific Practice”
Language: English
In his 1966 paper The Strategy of model-building in Population Biology, Richard Levins argues that no single model in population biology can be maximally realistic, precise and general at the same time. This is because these desirable model properties trade-off against one another. Recently, philosophers have developed Levins' claims, arguing that trade-offs between these desiderata are generated by practical limitations on scientists, or due to formal aspects of models and how they represent the world. However this project is not complete. The trade-offs discussed by Levins had a noticeable effect on modelling in population biology, but not on other sciences. This raises questions regarding why such a difference holds. I claim that in order to explain this finding, we must pay due attention to the properties of the systems, or targets modelled by the different branches of science.
...MoreDescription On population biology.
Article Gelfert, Axel (2011) Model-Based Representation in Scientific Practice: New Perspectives. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science (p. 251).
Similar Citations
Chapter
Thompson, Paul;
(2000)
“Organization,” “Population,” and Mayr's Rejection of Essentialism in Biology
(/isis/citation/CBB000410688/)
Thesis
Ogden, Athena Dawn;
(2002)
Epistemic Progress in Biology: A Case Study
(/isis/citation/CBB001560586/)
Book
Creath, Richard;
Maienschein, Jane;
(2000)
Biology and epistemology
(/isis/citation/CBB000110573/)
Article
Rodríguez, Xavier de Donato;
(2012)
The Structure of Idealization in Biological Theories: The Case of the Wright-Fisher Model
(/isis/citation/CBB001252357/)
Article
Pallitto, Nahuel;
Folguera, Guillermo;
(2012)
Cambios y continuidades: la ecología del comportamiento y su relación con la síntesis biológica extendida
(/isis/citation/CBB001212026/)
Article
Razeto-Barry, Pablo;
Frick, Ramiro;
(2011)
Probabilistic Causation and the Explanatory Role of Natural Selection
(/isis/citation/CBB001024019/)
Article
Miles MacLeod;
Nancy J. Nersessian;
(2019)
Mesoscopic modeling as a cognitive strategy for handling complex biological systems
(/isis/citation/CBB904044166/)
Book
Pierre-Alain Braillard;
Christophe Malaterre;
(2015)
Explanation in Biology: An Enquiry into the Diversity of Explanatory Patterns in the Life Sciences
(/isis/citation/CBB328513685/)
Article
Karina Alleva;
José Díez;
Lucia Federico;
(2017)
Models, theory structure and mechanisms in biochemistry: The case of allosterism
(/isis/citation/CBB541545262/)
Article
(2000)
Toward a New Understanding of Scientific Success
(/isis/citation/CBB000110609/)
Thesis
Eugene, Earnshaw-Whyte.;
(2012)
Modeling Evolution
(/isis/citation/CBB001567349/)
Article
(2000)
Philosophy of Biology, Psychology, and Neuroscience: The Organism in Philosophical Focus
(/isis/citation/CBB000110588/)
Article
Daniel S. Brooks;
Markus I. Eronen;
(2018)
The significance of levels of organization for scientific research: A heuristic approach
(/isis/citation/CBB081907453/)
Article
Sara Green;
Robert Batterman;
(2017)
Biology meets physics: Reductionism and multi-scale modeling of morphogenesis
(/isis/citation/CBB164750477/)
Article
Ankeny, Rachel A.;
Leonelli, Sabina;
(2011)
What's So Special about Model Organisms?
(/isis/citation/CBB001024174/)
Article
Mitchell, Sandra D.;
(2002)
Integrative Pluralism
(/isis/citation/CBB000200247/)
Article
Marc Artiga;
(2020)
Models, information and meaning
(/isis/citation/CBB086775343/)
Article
Perru, Olivier;
(2004)
Les modèles, le vivant et la complexité
(/isis/citation/CBB000551116/)
Article
Jean-Baptiste Grodwohl;
(2019)
Animal Behavior, Population Biology and the Modern Synthesis (1955–1985)
(/isis/citation/CBB982680006/)
Article
Stokland, Håkon B.;
(2015)
Field Studies in Absentia: Counting and Monitoring from a Distance as Technologies of Government in Norwegian Wolf Management (1960s--2010s)
(/isis/citation/CBB001422098/)
Philosophy of Science
Journal of the History of Biology
Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
Revue des Questions Scientifiques
Journal for General Philosophy of Science
Be the first to comment!