Inference and Representation: A Study in Modeling Science

Mauricio Surez develops a conception of representation that delivers a compelling account of modeling practice. He begins by discussing the history and methodology of model building, charting the emergence of what he calls the modeling attitude, a nineteenth-century and fin de sicle development. Prominent cases of models, both historical and contemporary, are used as benchmarks for the accounts of representation considered throughout the book. After arguing against reductive naturalist theories of scientific representation, Surez sets out his own account: a case for pluralism regarding the means of representation and minimalism regarding its constituents. He shows that scientists employ a variety of modeling relations in their representational practice--which helps them to assess the accuracy of their representations--while demonstrating that there is nothing metaphysically deep about the constituent relation that encompasses all these diverse means.

The book also probes the broad implications of Surez's inferential conception outside scientific modeling itself, covering analogies with debates about artistic representation and philosophical thought over the past several decades.