On the pragmatic equivalence between representing data and phenomena
Nguyen, J.
(2016).
On the pragmatic equivalence between representing data and phenomena.
Philosophy of Science,
83(2), 171-191.
https://doi.org/10.1086/684959
Van Fraassen argues that data provide the target-end structures required by structuralist accounts of scientific representation. But models represent phenomena not data. Van Fraassen agrees but argues that there is no pragmatic difference between taking a scientific model to accurately represent a physical system and accurately represent data extracted from it. In this article I reconstruct his argument and show that it turns on the false premise that the pragmatic content of acts of representation include doxastic commitments.
| Item Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Copyright holders | © 2016 Philosophy of Science Association |
| Departments | LSE > Academic Departments > Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method |
| DOI | 10.1086/684959 |
| Date Deposited | 14 Mar 2016 |
| URI | https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/65717 |
Explore Further
- https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84961244590 (Scopus publication)
- http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/phos/current (Official URL)
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6919-1365