Sprecher
Jan-Willem Romeijn
Beschreibung
In statistics it is often said that "All models are wrong but some are useful". This dictum seems to suggest that statistical models are somehow truth-apt, or factive. In my talk I investigate how we might conceptualize statistical models so that they are, and I argue that ideas on the factivity and truth-aptness of models can be used to clarify certain debates over statistical methodology. Finally, in pragmatist spirit, I will consider if we can relate the truth of models to their usefulness.