Modeling the Possible

Tarja Knuuttila is a Professor of Philosophy of Science at the University of Vienna, Austria. Knuuttila's research focuses on scientific modeling, as well as artifactuality and interdisciplinarity in science. Her philosophical work is practice-oriented, with an emphasis on synthetic biology, engineering sciences, and economics. Till Grüne-Yanoff is a Professor of Philosophy at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. His research focuses on scientific modeling, decision theory, and behavioral policy. He often collaborates with psychologists, economists, and engineers on these topics. Rami Koskinen is a Researcher at the University of Vienna, Austria. Koskinen’s research focuses on the general philosophy of science and the philosophy of biology. He has studied especially the epistemology of modal inferences, ranging from scientific modeling to biological engineering. Ylwa Sjölin Wirling is a Reader in Theoretical Philosophy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and a Pro Futura Scientia Fellow at the Swedish Collegium of Advanced Study. Her research concerns epistemology, philosophy of science, and metaphilosophy. She has worked on epistemological issues pertaining to modality, especially in the contexts of scientific modeling and philosophical inquiry.

Introduction Tarja Knuuttila, Till Grüne-Yanoff, Ylwa Sjölin Wirling, and Rami Koskinen Part 1: Possibility Concepts for Scientific Use 1. Through the Prism of Modal Epistemology: Perspectives on Modal Modeling Ylwa Sjölin Wirling and Till Grüne-Yanoff 2. Which Possibilities Contribute to Scientific Understanding? Collin Rice 3. Actual Possibility Paul Teller 4. The Possibilities in Propensities: Emergence and Modality Mauricio Suárez Part 2: Possibility Spaces 5. Invariance, Modality, and Modeling Andreas Hüttemann 6. Modeling the Biologically Possible: Evolvability as a Modal Concept Marcel Weber 7. The Combinatorial Possibilities of Synthetic Biology Tarja Knuuttila and Andrea Loettgers 8. Beyond Networks: Explaining the Dynamics in the Natural and Social Systems Johannes Jaeger, James DiFrisco, and Andrea Loettgers Part 3: Exploring How-Possibly in Practical Contexts 9. Three Strategies for Salvaging Explanatory Value in Deep Neural Network Modeling Philippe Verreault-Julien 10. Modeling Climate Possibilities Joe Roussos 11. Prospective Modeling Alfred Nordmann 12. Alternative Worlds: Reasonable Worlds? Plausible Worlds? Mary S. Morgan 13. Are Pandemics a Necessary Evil? The Role of Epidemiological and Immunological Models in Understanding and Preventing Diseases Gregor P. Greslehner. Index