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The Roles of Modalities in Scientific Representation

Projektbeschreibung

Modalität in der wissenschaftlichen Darstellung

Der modale Diskurs ist in der Wissenschaft allgegenwärtig. Es ist jedoch nicht immer leicht zu erkennen, welche Art von Notwendigkeit vorliegt, z. B. epistemisch, natürlich oder konzeptionell. Das im Rahmen der Marie-Skłodowska-Curie-Maßnahmen finanzierte Projekt SciRepMod will diese Problematik umgehen, indem es den repräsentativen Zustand verschiedener Arten von Modalitäten untersucht. Ziel ist es, verschiedene Arten von Modalitäten pragmatisch zu unterscheiden, um Instrumente für eine genauere Interpretation des modalen Aspekts wissenschaftlicher Theorien und wissenschaftlicher Diskurse bereitstellen zu können. Das Projekt wird sich auf die nichtrelativistische Quantenmechanik konzentrieren, da dieses Gebiet über eine reichhaltige modale Struktur (mögliche Zustände, Observablen, Ergebnisse und Modellparameter) mit unterschiedlichen Interpretationen verfügt. Daher wird das Projekt auch für Fachkräfte in der Wissenschaft, insbesondere der Physik, von Interesse sein.

Ziel

Modal discourse (about what is possible or necessary) is ubiquitous in science but it is not always easy to identify which kind of necessity (epistemic, natural, conceptual, ...) is involved in a piece of scientific reasoning. This difficulty is a source of debate not only among philosophers, but also among physicists, for example concerning the interpretation of probabilities in quantum mechanics. The aim of the project is to circumvent this problem by examining the representational status of various kinds of modalities: whether they are represented, or whether they play a role in the act of representing, for example, in assessing the credibility of a model. The purpose is to arrive at a means of distinguishing different kinds of modalities pragmatically, so as to provide tools for interpreting the modal aspect of scientific theories and scientific discourse more precisely. The project will focus on a case-study: non-relativistic quantum mechanics, because it offers a rich modal structure (possible states, observables, outcomes, model-parameters) with divergent interpretations. It will consist in developing a plausible account of the representational status of various kinds of modalities, with help from the competence of the host institution on the topics of scientific representation and the philosophy of probabilities, and applying this account to the case study by examining how various modal structures constrain, license or warrant inferences based on quantum mechanical models. It will take into account different scientific aims and activities (explaining, predicting, developing technologies). The project could be useful to scientists, by helping them to have a clear view of the concepts involved when they employ modal discourse. It could inform the way scientific theories are to be interpreted, in particular quantum mechanics. Finally, it could inform debates on the nature of scientific representation and on the relations between various kinds of modalities.

Koordinator

UNIVERSIDAD COMPLUTENSE DE MADRID
Netto-EU-Beitrag
€ 160 932,48
Adresse
AVENIDA DE SENECA 2
28040 Madrid
Spanien

Auf der Karte ansehen

Region
Comunidad de Madrid Comunidad de Madrid Madrid
Aktivitätstyp
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Gesamtkosten
€ 160 932,48