CFP: Special Issue Computational Modeling in Philosophy/Synthese

Guest Editors: Simon Scheller (LMU Munich), Stephan Hartmann (LMU Munich), Christoph Merdes (FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg)

Description:

Computational modeling has become a well-established and broadly applied tool in core areas of Philosophy. Computational modelers draw on a broad range of techniques (such as agent-based modeling, artificial neural networks, or evolutionary game theory), and computational models encompass a broad spectrum of model types, from abstract toy models to empirically parameterized representations of dynamical systems.

Naturally, the advent of a new methodology raises a number of methodological questions and concerns, regarding the purpose, possibilities and limitations of computational methods. Among other things, focal attention has been attributed to the role of robustness, reliability and validation, to varying purposes of modeling and simulation, as well as to the epistemic status of computer models and simulation techniques.

This special issue is dedicated to contributions that either fruitfully apply computational modeling techniques in philosophy or investigate its methodological foundations. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Social and Political Philosophy

  • Opinion dynamics

  • Collective decision making

  • Emergence, evolution and persistence of norms and political Institutions 

• Formal Social Epistemology 

  • Epistemic communities

  • Argumentation dynamics

  • Peer-review, reputation and incentives in science

  • Models of trust and reliability

• Philosophy of Language

  • The evolution of language

  • Dynamic reasoning

  • Signalling games and language

• Philosophy of computational modeling

  • Robustness analysis and simulation validation

  • Modes of argumentation and explanation through computer models

  • Purposes of computational modeling

  • Epistemic status of computer models and simulation, opacity

  • Overarching frameworks of computational models

For further information, please contact the guest editors: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Please submit your contributions via the editorial manager. Make sure to select this SI when selecting an article type.