Thought Experiments, Models and Scientific Explanation

This book proposes a novel way to view thought experiments, models and scientific explanations. Current literature focuses largely on the assumed differences between the thought experiments and models, and as a result we have lost sight of an important role they can perform in science, such as providing explanations. On the contrary, by characterizing them as mingled representations (instead of defining them), namely as representations that carry scientific content which is at once hypothetical and empirical, we can see that they explain events in certain contexts. These activities constitute a huge portion of scientific practice and considering them as not being linked to explanation has been an unfortunate outcome for philosophy of science so far. This book fills that gap, making it of great interest to philosophers of science from a wide range of branches in the field, including those working on thought experiments and those who work on models.

Preface and Acknowledgements. - Chapter 1. Introduction. - Chapter 2. Thought Experiments and Models: Can we discriminate between them? . - Chapter 3. Thought Experiments and Models as Mingled Representations. - Chapter 4. Mingled Representations and Real Experiments. - Chapter 5. How Mingled Representations Answer Why-Questions. - Chapter 6. Ranking Explanations. - Chapter 7. Case Study from Physics: Galileo on Falling Bodies. - Chapter 8. Case Study from Constitutional Economics: Buchanan on the Emergence of Constitutions. - Chapter 9. Epilogue: Explanation and Mingled Representations. - Index.