Scientific misrepresentation and guides to ontology

the need for representational code and contents

Elay Shech

pp. 3463-3485

in: Benjamin C. Jantzen, Deborah G. Mayo, Lydia Patton (eds), Ontology & methodology, Synthese 192 (11), 2015.

Abstract

In this paper I show how certain requirements must be set on any tenable account of scientific representation, such as the requirement allowing for misrepresentation. I then continue to argue that two leading accounts of scientific representation—the inferential account and the interpretational account—are flawed for they do not satisfy such requirements. Through such criticism, and drawing on an analogy from non-scientific representation, I also sketch the outline of a superior account. In particular, I propose to take epistemic representations to be intentional objects that come with reference, semantic contents and a representational code, and I identify faithful representations as representations that act as guides to ontology.