Andrea Loettgers - Model Templates and Model-Based Unification

Andrea Loettgers

The Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh invites you to join us for our 66th Annual Lecture Series Talk. Attend in person in room 1008 in the Cathedral of Learning (10th Floor)  or visit our live stream on YouTube or Zoom.

ALS –  Andrea Loettgers 

Friday, September 26 @ 3:30 pm - 5:30pm EDT

1008 Cathedral of Learning 

Title:  Model Templates and Model-Based Unification

Abstract: 

Contemporary science is increasingly shaped by models that travel far beyond their original disciplinary homes. The Hopfield model, born in statistical physics and reimagined as a neural network, now informs fields as diverse as machine learning, gene regulation, and sociology. Scale-free networks, originating in graph theory and statistical mechanics, capture the hub-like structure of the internet, social networks, cellular metabolism, and citation patterns. The Kuramoto model, developed to study coupled oscillators, now illuminates phenomena ranging from circadian rhythms to power-grid stability.

These cases exemplify what we call model-based unification: the integration of diverse research domains not through universal laws, but through the dissemination and adaptation of shared model templates. Such models unify by functioning as conceptual and computational scaffolds that guide reasoning, reveal regularities, and enable cross-domain inference—while also accumulating differences in meaning and use across contexts.

Drawing on case studies from physics, biology, and the humanities, this talk examines the epistemic power and risks of this mode of unification. It considers whether network models and other transdisciplinary templates are uncovering deep structural commonalities or simply projecting a familiar mathematical form onto disparate systems. By tracing how models are transformed in new domains, I will argue for a practice-centered understanding of scientific unity—one that embraces diversity and friction as productive forces in building connections across disciplines.

Can’t make it in-person? This talk will available online through the following:

 Zoom:  https://pitt.zoom.us/j/93042700398 and 

YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrRp47ZMXD7NXO3a9Gyh2sg.