Methodological Issues in Computer Simulation

汉弗莱斯博士正在研究计算机模拟方法能否与现有的科学方法的哲学解释相适应。他特别强调规律和特定条件之间的关系，强调类比推理在模拟模型构建中的作用，以及模型中缺乏明确的演绎结构对我们理解这些模型的影响。在资助期的第一部分，研究将集中在物理和天文学模型上，特别是那些使用蒙特卡罗估计技术的模型。在资助期的后半段，他将专注于社会科学模型的可识别性问题。在进行研究时，他将与当前使用模拟方法的认知科学工作联系起来。

Dr. Humphreys is investigating the ways in which computer simulation methods can and cannot be adequately accommodated within existing philosophical accounts of scientific method. He is placing particular emphasis on the relationships between laws and specific conditions, on the role of analogical reasoning in the construction of simulation models, and the effects that the absence of an explicit deductive structure in the models has on our understanding of these models. The research will focus during the first part of the grant period on models in physics and astronomy, especially those that use Monte Carlo estimation techniques. During the second half of the grant period, he will focus on identifiability issues in social science models. While carrying out the research, he will make various points of connection with current work in cognitive science that uses simulation methods.