Model-Based Reasoning

by Magnani, Lorenzo; Nersessian, Nancy J.

• ISBN13: 9780306472442
• ISBN10: 0306472449
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-04-01
• Publisher: Plenum Pub Corp

Summary

The study of diagnostic, visual, spatial, analogical, and temporal reasoning has demonstrated that there are many ways of performing intelligent and creative reasoning that cannot be described with the help of traditional notions of reasoning, such as classical logic. Understanding the contribution of modeling practices to discovery and conceptual change in science requires expanding scientific reasoning to include complex forms of creative reasoning that are not always successful and can lead to incorrect solutions. The study of these heuristic ways of reasoning is situated at the crossroads of philosophy, artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology, and logic; that is, at the heart of cognitive science. There are several key ingredients common to the various forms of model-based reasoning considered in this book. The term 'model' comprises both internal and external representations. The models are intended as interpretations of target physical systems, processes, phenomena, or situations. The models are retrieved or constructed on the basis of potentially satisfying salient constraints of the target domain. Moreover, in the modeling process, various forms of abstraction are used. Evaluation and adaptation take place in the light of structural, causal, and/or functional constraints. Model simulation can be used to produce new states and enable evaluation of behaviors and other factors.The various contributions of the book are written by interdisciplinary researchers who are active in the area of creative reasoning in science and technology: the most recent results and achievements in the topics above are illustrated in the chapters.

Table of Contents

Metaphor-Based Values in Scientific Models	1	(20)
Mark Johnson
Analogy in Scientific Discovery: The Case of Johannes Kepler	21	(20)
Dedre Gentner
Model Experiments and Models in Experiments	41	(18)
Mary S. Morgan
Models, Simulations, and Experiments	59	(16)
Francesco Guala
Calibration of Models in Experiments	75	(20)
Marcel Boumans
The Development of Scientific Taxonomies	95	(18)
Hanne Andersen
Production, Science and Epistemology. An Overview on New Models and Scenarios	113	(14)
Simone Turchetti
Mauro Capocci
Elena Gagliasso
Modeling Practices and ``Tradition''	127	(20)
Elke Kurz-Milcke
Laura Martignon
Modeling Data: Analogies in Neural Networks, Simulated Annealing and Genetic Algorithms	147	(20)
Daniela M. Bailer-Jones
Coryn A. L. Bailer-Jones
Perceptual Simulation in Analogical Problem Solving	167	(24)
David L. Craig
Nancy J. Nersessian
Richard Catrambone
Building Demand Models to Improve Environmental Policy Process	191	(18)
Bryan G. Norton
Toward a Computational Model of Hypothesis Formation and Model Building in Science	209	(18)
Joseph Phillips
Gary Livingston
Bruce Buchanan
Models as Parts of Distributed Cognitive Systems	227	(16)
Ronald N. Giere
Conceptual Models, Inquiry and the Problem of Deriving Normative Claims from a Naturalistic Base	243	(16)
Andrew Ward
Dynamic Imagery: A Computational Model of Motion and Visual Analogy	259	(16)
David Croft
Paul Thagard
Model-Based Reasoning and Similarity in the World	275	(12)
Qiming Yu
Epistemic Artifacts: Michael Faraday's Search for the Optical Effects of Gold	287	(18)
Ryan D. Tweney
Epistemic Mediators and Model-Based Discovery in Science	305	(26)
Lorenzo Magnani
Deterministic Models and the ``Unimportance of the Inevitable''	331	(22)
Claudio Pizzi
Mental Models in Conceptual Development	353	(16)
Stella Vosniadou
Modeling Core Knowledge and Practices in a Computational Approach to Innovation Process	369	(22)
Stefania Bandini
Sara Manzoni
Author Index	391	(8)
Subject Index	399