Objects, Models, Theories

[Jon Awbrey]

Objects, Models, Theories • 1
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2026/09/10/objects-models-theories-1-a/

Happy Birthday, Charles Sanders Peirce❢ — September 10, 1839

I return once more to a recurring subject.

Re: Artem Kaznatcheev • Three Types of Mathematical Models
• https://egtheory.wordpress.com/2013/09/08/mathematical-models/

In speaking of models one tends to find denizens of different disciplines
talking at cross purposes to one another. Logicians use the word to
describe what may be distinguished as “logical models”, saying a model
is whatever satisfies a theory — anything a theory holds true of —
and that is the sense used in the logical subject of “model theory”.

Almost everyone else uses the word to describe what may be called
“analogical models”, analogues being things holding enough properties
in common with other things that learning about Thing 2 (the analogue
system) can teach us about Thing 1 (the object system).

It is actually quite easy to integrate those two senses of the word
“model” into a coherent picture of the whole situation, namely, the
triadic relationship among objects, analogues, and theories. We'll
get into that further as the discussion proceeds.

Resources —

Functional Logic • Inquiry and Analogy
• https://oeis.org/wiki/Functional_Logic_%E2%80%A2_Inquiry_and_Analogy

Survey of Abduction, Deduction, Induction, Analogy, Inquiry
• https://inquiryintoinquiry.com/2025/05/01/survey-of-abduction-deduction-induction-analogy-inquiry-5/

Regards,

Jon

cc: https://www.academia.edu/community/VDDKwZ