Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze a line of reasoning which has been highly successful in dealing with scientific problems of a certain kind. Part I presents an analysis of these problems and introduces terminology that facilitates an abstract treatment of the circumstances in which they arise. Part II describes a program of research suggested by these circumstances and incorporates its central features into an analysis of a special type of scientific model. The use of analogical reasoning in the construction of such models is examined, and they are contrasted in this and further respects with models of other types and with theories. Part III describes, through a series of examples, the development of these models into new theories in terms of which the original problems are solved.
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© 1980 D. Reidel Publishing Company
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Leplin, J. (1980). The Role of Models in Theory Construction. In: Nickles, T. (eds) Scientific Discovery, Logic, and Rationality. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol 56. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8986-3_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8986-3_12
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