CfP special issue of JGPS on "Formal Models of Scientific Inquiry"

We invite submissions for the special issue of the Journal for General Philosophy of Science on the topic of Formal Models of Scientific Inquiry. The issue will include papers presented at the conference on the same topic, which was held in Bochum on July 18-19, 2017. Papers not presented at the conference are also welcome.

Throughout the last two decades philosophical discussions on scientific inquiry have increasingly utilized formal models. One of the main advantages of formal approaches is that they help us to gain a precise understanding of the underlying issues and to form normative generalizations that are difficult to obtain in view of traditional methods (such as, for example, historical case studies). Nevertheless, models frequently come with a high degree of idealization and simplification, which may impede their relevance for actual scientific practice. This poses the question, to which extent formal models can be used to provide an understanding of scientific inquiry, and to which extent they can be improved with respect to their relevance for science policy. We invite papers on the above and related issues.