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Models-As-Fables: An Alternative to the Standard Rationale for Using Formal Models in Political Science

2020; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 19; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s1537592720003473

1541-0986

James Turner Johnson,

Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research

Political scientists invoke the standard rationale to justify making and using formal models. It goes like this: (1) we rely on formal models to generate predictions, (2) we treat these predictions as empirical hypotheses, and (3) we seek to test these hypotheses against evidence derived from the “real world.” I show that this interpretation of formal models as directly empirical is inadequate just insofar as it fails to capture the way we actually use them. I then offer an alternative rationale for making and using formal models. Specifically, I argue that we use models, like we use fables, for conceptual purposes.