This monograph offers a survey of philosophical theories of the relation between models and their targets. Models matter. Scientists spend much effort on constructing, improving, and testing models, and countless pages in scientific journals are filled with descriptions of models and their behaviours. Models owe much of their importance in the scientific process to the fact that many of them are representations, which allows scientists to study a model to discover features of reality. The authors provide a map of the conceptual landscape surrounding “the” question of scientific representation, arguing that it consists of multiple intertwined problems. They provide an encyclopaedic overview of existing attempts to answer these questions, and they assess their strengths and weaknesses. The book also presents a comprehensive statement of their alternative proposal, the DEKI account of representation, that they have developed over the last few years. They show how the account works in the case of material as well as non-material models, and how it accommodates the use of mathematics in scientific modelling. They also discuss the similarities and differences between representation in science and art. As the authors point out, the problem of representation has generated a sizable literature, which has been growing fast in particular over the last decade. This makes it hard to get a handle on the topic and it can be difficult for novices to find a suitable introduction. In addition, researchers looking for a comprehensive review that they can refer to for critical evaluations may discover that one doesn't exit. The needs of both groups will be met by this book. weiterlesen