Measuring the Unmeasurable. Trust, validation, and the social organization of simulation modeling

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Johannes Lenhard
• Subject Area: Theoretical Philosophy
• Term: from 2019 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 435350290

Computer simulation has become a standard instrument in science and engineering. Simulation models help to fit theories into concrete contexts of application. These models are famous for their adjustability and can accommodate large amounts of data. The most interesting cases are those in which simulations do not merely reproduce known data or phenomena but advance into the empirically unknown where data for comparison are not available. There are even many cases in which experimental evidence cannot be obtained, but models can be used for predictions. Then, simulation is used for “measuring the unmeasurable.” Starting from this observation, the main research questions are how simulation models are validated and how trust in them is created, maintained, and justified. The project addresses these questions in an empirical (about actual practices) and a normative sense (about justification). It is structured by three interconnected dimensions: epistemology, methodology, and institutional organization. The project leaves beaten pathways because it examines cases from the engineering sciences where models have to perform in given (not idealized) contexts and because it embeds philosophical research in science and engineering.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants