Seven myths about the fiction view of models

Roman Frigg and James Nguyen present a detailed statement and defense of the fiction view of scientific models, according to which they are akin to the characters and places of literary fiction. They argue that while some of the criticisms this view has attracted raise legitimate points, others are myths. In this chapter, they first identify and then rebut the following seven myths: (1) that the fiction view regards products of science as falsehoods; (2) that the fiction view holds that models are data-free; (3) that the fiction view is antithetical to representation; (4) that the fiction view trivializes epistemology; (5) that the fiction view cannot account for the use of mathematics in the modeling; (6) that the fiction view misconstrues the function of models in the scientific process; and (7) that the fiction view stands on the wrong side of politics. As a result, they conclude that the fiction view of models, suitably understood (as an account of the ontology of models, rather than their function), remains a viable position.