In the next Perspectives on Science seminar, N. Emrah Aydinonat (University of Helsinki) will give a talk on “The puzzle of model-based explanations”.

The seminar takes place online via Zoom from 14:15 to 15:45 on the 17th of October. To join the seminar, please contact jessica.north@helsinki.fi for the Zoom invitation.

Perspectives on Science is a weekly research seminar which brings together experts from science studies and philosophy of science. It is organized by TINT – Centre for Philosophy of Social Science at the University of Helsinki. More information about the seminar here.

Abstract:

Almost everyone agrees that one of the many functions of scientific models is the help scientists explain real-world phenomena. Nevertheless, there is no agreement about how models perform this function. How do models explain? What is the relation between models and explanations? Can idealized models, which contain falsehoods, provide true explanations? This talk gives a brief overview of the philosophical literature on the so-called model explanations and outlines a framework to understand the explanatory role of idealized models.

Author bio:

N. Emrah Aydinonat (PhD, Docent) is a researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki and TINT – Centre for Philosophy of Social Science. He is one of the chief editors of the Journal of Economic Methodology (w/ J. Vromen). He is a member of the board of directors of the International Network for Economic Method (INEM)the editorial board of the History of Economic Ideas and the International Advisory Board of The Review of Evolutionary Political Economy (REPE). He is the author of The Invisible Hand in Economics (Routledge, 2008) and the co-editor of Economics Made Fun: Philosophy of the pop-economics (Routledge, 2015). Aydinonat is currently working on an Academy of Finland research project entitled Economics as Serviceable Social Knowledge (ESSK) led by Uskali Mäki at University of Helsinki. More information at http://neaydinonat.com