Models and Simulations 1

Special Issue of Synthese

Forthcoming

Guest Editors: Roman Frigg, Stephan Hartmann, and Cyrille Imbert

Introduction

Computer simulations have changed the face of many scientific disciplines. This has attracted the attention of a number of philosophers of science, who have started discussing the philosophical implications of the use of computational methods in science. It was the aim of the conference Models and Simulations that took place at the IHPST in Paris, France, on 12 and 13 June 2006 to bring researchers working in this field together and provide a platform to discuss these issues in a focused way. The papers in this special issue were presented at this conference. We would like to thank the IHPST and the CNRS (département SHS, ATIP "Physique et Calcul") for generous financial support of the conference. We also would like to thank the authors and referees of the papers for their work, and Vincent Hendricks and John Symons for their support of the project of a special issue of this journal to the topic of the conference.

Contents

Robert Batterman: Idealization and Modeling.

Matthew W. Parker: Computing the Uncomputable, or, The Discrete Charm of Second-Order Simulacra.

James Mattingly and Walter Warwick: Projectible Predicates in Analogue and Simulated Systems.

Wendy Parker: Does Matter Really Matter? Computer Simulations, Experiments, and Materiality.

Axel Gelfert: Rigorous Results, Cross-Model Justification, and the Transfer of Empirical Warrant: The Case of Many-Body Models in Physics.

Dirk Schlimm: Learning from the Existence of Models. On Psychic Machines, Tortoises, and Computer Simulations.

Till Grüne-Yanoff: The Explanatory Potential of Artificial Societies.

Anouk Barberousse, Sara Francescelli, and Cyrille Imbert: Computer Simulations as Experiments.

Eric Winsberg: A Tale of Two Methods.

Roman Frigg and Julian Reiss: The Philosophy of Simulation: Hot New Issues or Same Old Stew?

Paul Humphreys: The Philosophical Novelty of Computer Simulation Methods.