Idealized Models in Scientific Explanation: Some Lessons from Geomorphology (Scholars Award)

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Brief DescriptionIn disciplines ranging from physics to economics, scientists regularly use scientific models to explain various phenomena. However, that use of models is puzzling. Models involve all sorts of idealizations, abstractions, and omissions; meaning that they are not literally true descriptions of their targets. This project aims to develop and test a new model-based account of scientific explanation; it will show how and when such idealized models can nonetheless be properly used to produce scientific knowledge. The project focuses on how idealized models are used to explain phenomena in geomorphology (the study of physical structures on the surface of the earth and how they evolve) through a detailed examination of scientific case studies. Intellectual MeritThis project will significantly advance our understanding of the nature of scientific explanation and the nature of scientific modeling. It will also articulate a number of novel theses including the different kinds of explanations in geomorphology, the different roles robustness analyses play in evaluating explanatory models, and the relevance of model lineages to the problem of model validation.Broader ImpactsThe results of this project will be disseminated in the form of a book, which will be the first book in a new subfield, the philosophy of geomorphology. The book will facilitate the building of new bridges between philosophers of science and researchers in the Earth sciences. More broadly, this project will be important for the public's perception of science. Many of the claims, predictions, and explanations offered by climatologists regarding global climate change are dismissed by skeptics on the grounds that they are derived from incomplete models that make idealized assumptions. This project will highlight the pervasiveness of such models in science and it will give an account of how such models can nonetheless generate true predictions and explanations. As a result, it will be of wide significance.