Aboutorab Yaghmaie

Shahid Beheshti University
  •  24
    Grounding scientific representation
    Synthese 202 (6): 1-25. 2023.
    In this article, I will offer a ground-theoretic proposal to explore the so-called ‘constitution question of scientific representation’: _in virtue of_ what does a scientific model represent a part of the world? In particular, I will provide a schematic, unifying account, according to which scientific representation is grounded in both structural similarities and agent’s intentional actions. This new framework not only characterizes the nature of the dependence of scientific representation on th…Read more
  •  43
    Representation and Spacetime: The Hole Argument Revisited
    International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 35 (2): 171-188. 2022.
    Ladyman and Presnell have recently argued that the Hole argument is naturally resolved when spacetime is represented within homotopy type theory rather than set theory. The core idea behind their proposal is that the argument does not confront us with any indeterminism, since the set-theoretically different representations of spacetime involved in the argument are homotopy type-theoretically identical. In this article, we will offer a new resolution based on ZFC set theory to the argument. It ne…Read more
  •  70
    On the Problem of Relation without Relata
    Journal of Philosophical Investigations at University of Tabriz 14 (33): 404-425. 2021.
    The claim that there can be relations without relata, submitted by the radical ontic structural realist, mounts a serious challenge to her: on the one hand, the world is constituted, according to this sort of realism, just by structures and relations, and on the other hand, relations depend, mathematics says, on individual objects as relata. To resolve the problem, Steven French has argued that while the dependency of relations on relata is conceivable concerning the structure associated with th…Read more
  •  35
    Scientific Modeling Versus Engineering Modeling: Similarities and Dissimilarities
    Journal for General Philosophy of Science / Zeitschrift für Allgemeine Wissenschaftstheorie 52 (3): 455-474. 2021.
    This article aims to answer what I call the “constitution question of engineering modeling”: in virtue of what does an engineering model model its target system? To do so, I will offer a category-theoretic, structuralist account of design, using the olog framework. Drawing on this account, I will conclude that engineering and scientific models are not only cognitively but also representationally indistinguishable. I will finally propose an axiological criterion for distinguishing scientific from…Read more
  •  35
    Karim Thébault has argued that for ontic structural realism to be a viable ontology it should accommodate two principles: physico-mathematical structures it deploys must be firstly consistent and secondly substantial. He then contends that in geometric quantization, a transitional machinery from classical to quantum mechanics, the two principles are followed, showing that it is a guide to ontic structure. In this article, I will argue that geometric quantization violates the consistency principl…Read more
  •  4
    Ibn Sina's Theory of Efficient Causality and Special Divine Action
    Avicennian Philosophy Journal 19 (54): 79-94. 2015.
    Ibn Sina’s theory of efficient causality includes the definitions of metaphysical and natural efficient causes. In the first section, these definitions and two theses about their relation will be introduced. َAccording to the first thesis, natural efficient causes do not bestow existence and therefore they are not metaphysical. The alternative thesis defends bestowing existence by natural efficient causes, although this ontological status is restricted only to conferring existence of motion. In …Read more
  •  445
    Theories of scientific representation, following Chakrawartty's categorization, are divided into two groups. Whereas cognitive-functional views emphasize agents' intentions, informational theories stress the objective relation between represented and representing. In the first part, a modified structuralist theory is introduced that takes into account agents' intentions. The second part is devoted to dismissing a criticism against the structural account of representation on which similarity as t…Read more
  •  77
    How to Characterise Pure and Applied Science
    International Studies in the Philosophy of Science 31 (2): 133-149. 2017.
    Regarding the dichotomy between applied science and pure science, there are two apparently paradoxical facts. First, they are distinguishable. Second, the outcomes of pure sciences (e.g. scientific theories and models) are applicable to producing the outcomes of applied sciences (e.g. technological artefacts) and vice versa. Addressing the functional roles of applied and pure science, i.e. to produce design representation and science representation, respectively, I propose a new characterisation…Read more