Ontology, epistemology, and teleology for modeling and simulation: philosophical foundations for intelligent M&S applications

摘要

Modeling and simulation are commonplace in the scientific investigation of laboratory experiments and natural phenomena, economic systems, and engineering projects. They are used to explain what is being observed and to make predictions about future measurements and observations. Often, they are the only means of studying systems that cannot be constructed or prepared on a laboratory scale, such as the internal processes taking place in the sun, the trajectories of hurricanes, or policy decisions that will affect national economies. Modeling and simulation are not merely tools in the service of other disciplines. They have an integrity that puts them on a level equivalent with the earlier and more traditional disciplines in science, engineering, and economics, as well as with the two general components of any science: theory and experiments.