The visualizable, the representable and the inconceivable: Realist and non-realist mathematical models in physics and beyond

Abstract

The project of this article is twofold. First, it aims to offer a new perspective on, and a new argument concerning, realist and non-realist mathematical models, and differences and affinities between them, using physics as a paradigmatic field of mathematical modelling in science. Most of the article is devoted to this topic. Second, the article aims to explore the implications of this argument for mathematical modelling in other fields, in particular in cognitive psychology and economics.