A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin modulus , a measure.
19-537: A model city is a city built to a high standard and intended as a model for others to imitate. The term was first used in 1854. Model city may specifically refer to: Model Models can be divided into physical models (e.g. a ship model or a fashion model) and abstract models (e.g. a set of mathematical equations describing the workings of the atmosphere for the purpose of weather forecasting). Abstract or conceptual models are central to philosophy of science . In scholarly research and applied science,
38-486: A model but in this context distinguished from a conceptual model ) is a smaller or larger physical representation of an object , person or system . The object being modelled may be small (e.g., an atom ) or large (e.g., the Solar System ) or life-size (e.g., a fashion model displaying clothes for similarly-built potential customers). The geometry of the model and the object it represents are often similar in
57-428: A model should not be confused with a theory : while a model seeks only to represent reality with the purpose of better understanding or predicting the world, a theory is more ambitious in that it claims to be an explanation of reality. As a noun, model has specific meanings in certain fields, derived from its original meaning of "structural design or layout ": A physical model (most commonly referred to simply as
76-540: A rational and critical philosophy at the core, he did not form a "school" himself and was not included by any of the authoritative "schools". In his undogmatic basic attitude, he sought to integrate parts of these school opinions into his thought, but this did not always meet with the approval of his colleagues. Thus, despite its impressive breadth, conclusiveness and modernity, his philosophy has so far been received only very inadequately. In addition to more than 200 articles in journals and anthologies, Stachowiak has published
95-430: A subject the model represents. Abstract or conceptual models are central to philosophy of science , as almost every scientific theory effectively embeds some kind of model of the physical or human sphere . In some sense, a physical model "is always the reification of some conceptual model; the conceptual model is conceived ahead as the blueprint of the physical one", which is then constructed as conceived. Thus,
114-607: A substitute professorship, he was appointed associate professor at the Free University of Berlin in 1971. In 1973, he was appointed to Paderborn to teach the theory of science and planning. From 1973 to 1977 he was on leave there and at the same time director of the North Rhine-Westphalian Research and Development Centre for Objectified Teaching and Learning (FEoLL), where he worked with Helmar Frank and Miloš Lánský , among others. Since 1973 he
133-722: Is now Humboldt University and later at the Free University , which had been newly founded in 1948 because of the political conditions in the west of the city. In 1956 he received his doctorate with a dissertation on the foundations of mathematics. From 1949 to 1973, he was the owner and director of a private evening school in Berlin. In 1949 he was one of the founders of the Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor Radio University and regularly lectured on scientific, philosophical and cultural-political topics. After teaching assignments and
152-460: Is often used for these design efforts. Instrumented physical models can also examine internal flows, for the design of ductwork systems, pollution control equipment, food processing machines, and mixing vessels. Transparent flow models are used in this case to observe the detailed flow phenomenon. These models are scaled in terms of both geometry and important forces, for example, using Froude number or Reynolds number scaling (see Similitude ). In
171-468: The 1950s, the model perspective received a strong boost from the new cognitive programme of cybernetics ( Norbert Wiener ) and systems theory ( Ludwig von Bertalanffy ), which can almost be characterised as a model-scientific approach. Consequently, Stachowiak's first monograph is called "Thinking and Knowing in the Cybernetic Model" (1965). He generalised and systematised the model concept in
190-701: The depictive and foreshortening features, it is especially the pragmatic feature that determines how models are dealt with. That is why Stachowiak undertakes a broad critical survey of pragmatic philosophy and conceives a "systematic neopragmatism". This is reflected in the impressive anthology "Pragmatics" (5 volumes, 1986–1995), which, annotated by the editor in each case and placed in the overall concept, includes around one hundred renowned authors (including. Paul Feyerabend, Jürgen Habermas, Peter Janich, Hans Lenk, Jürgen Mittelstrass, Anatol Rapoport). Herbert Stachowiak has been an independent thinker and does not have an academic "picture book career" to show for it. Committed to
209-460: The pre-computer era, the UK economy was modelled with the hydraulic model MONIAC , to predict for example the effect of tax rises on employment. A conceptual model is a theoretical representation of a system, e.g. a set of mathematical equations attempting to describe the workings of the atmosphere for the purpose of weather forecasting. It consists of concepts used to help understand or simulate
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#1732779548235228-567: The purpose of finding one's way in the city (pragmatism). Additional properties have been proposed, like extension and distortion as well as validity . The American philosopher Michael Weisberg differentiates between concrete and mathematical models and proposes computer simulations (computational models) as their own class of models. Herbert Stachowiak Herbert Stachowiak (* 28 May 1921 in Berlin ; † 9 June 2004 in Berlin)
247-435: The sense that one is a rescaling of the other. However, in many cases the similarity is only approximate or even intentionally distorted. Sometimes the distortion is systematic, e.g., a fixed scale horizontally and a larger fixed scale vertically when modelling topography to enhance a region's mountains. An architectural model permits visualization of internal relationships within the structure or external relationships of
266-453: The standard work "Allgemeine Modelltheorie" (General Model Theory, 1973), which has never been translated into English. According to this, all cognition is cognition in models. Models are representations of "reality", which, however, necessarily shorten what is represented. The respective shaping of the models depends on the model constructor, his historical and social situation as well as his cognitive or creative interests. Thus, in addition to
285-436: The structure to the environment. Another use is as a toy . Instrumented physical models are an effective way of investigating fluid flows for engineering design. Physical models are often coupled with computational fluid dynamics models to optimize the design of equipment and processes. This includes external flow such as around buildings, vehicles, people, or hydraulic structures . Wind tunnel and water tunnel testing
304-410: The tension between the purposeless search for truth and the ethical commitment to humane living conditions. Science must also consider the problems of value, and it must not allow itself to be taken into service by flat utilitarian interests and inhuman claims to power. Science strives for truth, but it must consider in critical reflection "that there is always truth only from a model perspective". Since
323-420: The term refers to models that are formed after a conceptualization or generalization process. According to Herbert Stachowiak , a model is characterized by at least three properties: For example, a street map is a model of the actual streets in a city (mapping), showing the course of the streets while leaving out, say, traffic signs and road markings (reduction), made for pedestrians and vehicle drivers for
342-508: Was a German philosopher . From 1973 to 1986 he taught as a full professor at the University of Paderborn . After a commercial apprenticeship in the aircraft industry, Stachowiak obtained his Abitur in 1941 through the second educational path. He continued to work in industry and as a teacher at a night school before he was drafted for military service in 1944. From 1946, he studied mathematics, physics and philosophy in Berlin, first at what
361-715: Was married to Brigitte Stachowiak-Prästel, who also assisted in his scientific work. Herbert Stachowiak died in 2004 in Berlin at the age of 83 years. His grave is located in the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf . At the age of 26, stud. math. nat. Herbert Stachowiak gave a speech on "The Scientific Ideal of Academic Youth" at the 1st Dies Academicus of the Student Council of the University of Berlin in 1947. With this speech he predetermined basic features of his scientific life. Science had to face up to
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