Dr. Shinod N K, Department of Philosophy, University of Hyderabad gave a talk on Thought Experiments, Computer Simulation and the Lessons from Hypothetical Worlds on 13 March.
The session discussed how thought experiments (TEs) and computer simulations (CSs) explore contrived hypothetical scenarios and produce results relevant to our understanding of the world. Shinod elaborates that these methods help us know the world without causally intervening. At this level, TE and CS look like experiments (E) of a special kind. The comparison among TEs, CSs, and Es often ends here. TEs appear simple and transparent, but CSs are opaque and complex. Experiments could test our theoretical representations, but the other two cannot. Consequently, the evidential potential of TE and CS are challenged. There are also attempts to reduce TE to CS and vice versa. In this presentation, Shinod made two cases. First, he argues for an epistemic continuity between Es, TEs, and CSs. He explains the continuity by employing the notion of ‘unfolding’ introduced by El Skaf and Imbert (2013). Second, employing the continuity argument, he blocks the attempts to reduce TE to CS. The session also revealed how the lessons learned from the analysis of TEs help evaluate CSs.
March 2024