Idealizations in Empirical Modeling

Abstract

In empirical modeling, mathematics has an important utility in transforming descriptive representations of target system(s) into calculation devices, thus creating useful scientific models. The transformation may be considered as the action of tools. In this paper, I assume that model idealizations could be such tools. I then examine whether these idealizations have characteristic properties of tools, i.e., whether they are being adapted to the objects to which they are applied, and whether they are to some extent generic.