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Palgrave Macmillan
Book cover

Models as Make-Believe

Imagination, Fiction and Scientific Representation

  • Book
  • © 2012

Overview

Authors:
  1. Adam Toon

    1. Department of Philosophy, University of Bielefeld, Germany

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Part of the book series: New Directions in the Philosophy of Science (NDPS)

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvi
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  2. Introduction

    • Adam Toon
    Pages 1-5

  3. Models and Representation

    • Adam Toon
    Pages 6-33

  4. What Models Are

    • Adam Toon
    Pages 34-60

  5. How Models Represent

    • Adam Toon
    Pages 61-83

  6. Carbon in Cardboard

    • Adam Toon
    Pages 84-107

  7. Playing with Molecules

    • Adam Toon
    Pages 108-130

  8. Conclusion

    • Adam Toon
    Pages 131-133

  9. Back Matter

    Pages 134-148
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Keywords

About this book

Scientists often try to understand the world by building simplified and idealised models of it. Adam Toon develops a new approach to scientific models by comparing them to the dolls and toy trucks of children's imaginative games, and offers a unified framework to solve difficult metaphysical problems and help to make sense of scientific practice.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Philosophy, University of Bielefeld, Germany

    Adam Toon

About the author

ADAM TOON is Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Exeter.

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