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Idealization
Author(s) -
ElliottGraves Alkistis,
Weisberg Michael
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
philosophy compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.973
H-Index - 25
ISSN - 1747-9991
DOI - 10.1111/phc3.12109
Subject(s) - idealization , representation (politics) , epistemology , scientific theory , realism , scientific modelling , psychology , philosophy , physics , classical mechanics , political science , politics , law
This article reviews the recent literature on idealization, specifically idealization in the course of scientific modeling. We argue that idealization is not a unified concept and that there are three different types of idealization: Galilean, minimalist, and multiple models, each with its own justification. We explore the extent to which idealization is a permanent feature of scientific representation and discuss its implications for debates about scientific realism.