by Summary:
The implication here is "formal model." But formal models are not the only sort of models. Most models we use are conceptual and they are mostly sufficient to the task. For example, in the Tractatus, Wittgenstein showed how a descriptive statement is a model of a fact that allows for comparing the model to the fact observationally to determine it truth-value. He elaborated how the propositional calculus is used to to describe many fact in using the principles of descriptive logic to construct a conceptual model. Wittgenstein used the German term "Bild" (meaning picture) as the basis of his analysis of a proposition as a "picture" of a fact based on there being a one-to-one (logical) correspondence of the elements of a picture to those of the fact it represents. A descriptive
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Mike Norman considers the following as important: economic modeling, economic profession
This could be interesting, too:
The implication here is "formal model." But formal models are not the only sort of models. Most models we use are conceptual and they are mostly sufficient to the task. For example, in the Tractatus, Wittgenstein showed how a descriptive statement is a model of a fact that allows for comparing the model to the fact observationally to determine it truth-value. He elaborated how the propositional calculus is used to to describe many fact in using the principles of descriptive logic to construct a conceptual model. Wittgenstein used the German term "Bild" (meaning picture) as the basis of his analysis of a proposition as a "picture" of a fact based on there being a one-to-one (logical) correspondence of the elements of a picture to those of the fact it represents. A descriptive
Topics:
Mike Norman considers the following as important: economic modeling, economic profession
This could be interesting, too:
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Wittgenstein used the German term "Bild" (meaning picture) as the basis of his analysis of a proposition as a "picture" of a fact based on there being a one-to-one (logical) correspondence of the elements of a picture to those of the fact it represents. A descriptive proposition models a fact in a way (logically) similar to ordinary picturing.
This notion as not original with Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein was an engineer by training and the Tractatus is modeled on Hertz's introduction to the Principle of Mechanics. It lays the logical foundations for philosophy of science. Philosophers coming from a different angle of approach and take it as an ontological work are mistaken about the task that Wittgenstein set himself as logician with a background in science. Those coming from a psychological background thought that Wittgenstein was making a psychological claim about the mind creating pictures of reality in thought. This, too, is erroneous. Wittgenstein was simply elucidating how the logic of description works since the logic of description cannot describe itself. It is something that one must come to see through logical analysis.
While the Tractatus is about symbolic logic, it is not written in symbolic logic. That does not mean that it is not a highly rigorous work. Even so, very few people commenting on it have seen what Wittgenstein was doing from his own point of view rather than theirs. The comparison with commentary on MMT is striking to me. It seem that many people have difficulty moving beyond their cognitive-affective biases even when these are pointed out to them.
Of course, rigorous models are preferable to less rigorous ones where circumstances call for it. However, it is also evident that rigorous models that don't yield as good results and less rigorous one are not preferable. Formalism itself is not a criterion of truth-value. Logic and math must be consistent, but consistency says nothing about correspondence or pragmatic worth.
Overemphasis on formalism at the expense of model realism and usefulness is an elementary mistake. This should not need saying in a professional setting.
Lars P. Syll’s Blog
Does it — really — take a model to beat a model?
Does it — really — take a model to beat a model?
Lars P. Syll | Professor, Malmo University