Towards a Consilient Theory of Scientific Representation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/1808-1711.2023.e86123Keywords:
Scientific Representation, Models, Scientific Practice, Induction, William WhewellAbstract
In this article, the inductive philosophy of science of the Victorian philosopher William Whewell is suggested as an appropriate approach to build a consilient notion of scientific representation. After a brief overview of the background that makes a notion of representation necessary in the field of philosophy of science, the description of what has been called the problem of scientific representation is exposed. It is then argued that the above is an unwieldy characterization of the problem that needs to be deflated in favor of a narrower profile of the problem, to finally propose that William Whewell's idiosyncratic notion of induction can be considered to develop a notion of scientific representation that makes the semanticist and pragmatist accounts of representation in science consilient.
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