Qualitative Theory and Chemical Explanation.
Roald Hoffmann and other theorists claim that we ought to use highly idealized chemical models ("qualitative models") in order to increase our understanding of chemical phenomena, even though other models are available which make more highly accurate predictions. I assess this norm by examining one...
| Published in: | Philosophy of Science Vol. 71; no. 5; pp. 1071 - 1082 |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
Dec2004
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=16630090&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 16630090 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00318248 PSC jtl: Philosophy of Science issn: 00318248 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Dec2004 vid: 71 iid: 5 pid: 15979 pub: Cambridge University Press artinfo: ui: 16630090 10.1086/428011 ppf: 1071 ppct: 11 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P size: 77KB tig: atl: Qualitative Theory and Chemical Explanation. aug: au: Weisberg, Michael affil: Department of Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania, 433 Logan Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19104. su: Chemical models Theory of knowledge Comprehension Norm (Philosophy) Philosophy of science Explanation sug: subj: Chemical models Theory of knowledge Comprehension Norm (Philosophy) Philosophy of science Explanation ab: Roald Hoffmann and other theorists claim that we ought to use highly idealized chemical models ("qualitative models") in order to increase our understanding of chemical phenomena, even though other models are available which make more highly accurate predictions. I assess this norm by examining one of the tradeoffs faced by model builders and model users-the tradeoff between precision and generality. After arguing that this tradeoff obtains in many cases, I discuss how the existence of this tradeoff can help us defend Hoffmann's norm for modelling. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Philosophy of Science is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Philosophy of Science holder: Cambridge University Press dt: @attributes: year: 2004 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
|---|