TY  - JOUR
AB  - Recent philosophy of science has seen a number of attempts to understand scientific models by looking to theories of fiction. In previous work, I have offered an account of models that draws on Kendall Walton's 'make-believe' theory of art. According to this account, models function as 'props' in games of make-believe, like children's dolls or toy trucks. In this paper, I assess the make-believe view through an empirical study of molecular models. I suggest that the view gains support when we look at the way that these models are used and the attitude that users take towards them. Users' interaction with molecular models suggests that they do imagine the models to be molecules, in much the same way that children imagine a doll to be a baby. Furthermore, I argue, users of molecular models imagine themselves viewing and manipulating molecules, just as children playing with a doll might imagine themselves looking at a baby or feeding it. Recognising this 'participation' in modelling, I suggest, points towards a new account of how models are used to learn about the world, and helps us to understand the value that scientists sometimes place on three-dimensional, physical models over other forms of representation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
DA  - 2011
DO  - 10.1016/j.shpsa.2011.08.002
KW  - Manipulation
KW  - Representation
KW  - Models
KW  - Imagination
KW  - Depiction
KW  - Fiction
LA  - eng
IS  - 4
M2  - 580
PY  - 2011
SN  - 0039-3681
SP  - 580-589
T2  - Studies In History and Philosophy of Science Part A
TI  - Playing with molecules
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0070-pub-24547669
Y2  - 2024-11-22T11:51:16
ER  -