Model Evaluation: An Adequacy-for-Purpose View

By Wendy S. Parker. Philosophia Scientiæ, 2020

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According to an adequacy-for-purpose view, models should be assessed with respect to their adequacy or fitness for particular purposes. Such a view has been advocated by scientists and philosophers alike. Important details, however, have yet to be spelled out. This article attempts to make progress by addressing three key questions: What does it mean for a model to be adequate-for-purpose? What makes a model adequate-for-purpose? How does assessing a model’s adequacy-for-purpose differ from assessing its representational accuracy? In addition, responses are given to some objections that might be raised against an adequacy-for-purpose view.

Subfields: Global and Planetary Change, History and Philosophy of Science, Management Science and Operations Research

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/7e84b44f3830229f9e73a00daa56d63b5a2554fc