Research Group
in Analytic Philosophy

Abstract

A common remark about computer simulations is that they don't (or can't) provide us with new information because you only get out what you put in.  While this is in some sense trivially true I argue that it is based on a misunderstanding of how simulations function in scientific contexts.  By examining the relationship between simulation and experiment it becomes clear that simulations play a very sophisticated role in the production of scientific knowledge, one that not only produces new knowledge but often serves as confirmation of models and hypotheses currently in place.  While simulations can function as both models and experiments, they nevertheless occupy a distinct place in the epistemic hierarchy, one that requires careful attention to the methodology that grounds their role as a knowledge producing entity/technique.  In the talk I discuss these issues in an attempt to establish computer simulation not only as a generator of possibilities, but as legitimate sources of knowledge.