Visual Representations in Science

Abstract

Visual representations (photographs, diagrams, etc.) play crucial roles in scientific processes. They help, for example, to communicate research results and hypotheses to scientific peers as well as to the lay audience. In genuine research activities they are used as evidence or as surrogates for research objects which are otherwise cognitively inaccessible. Despite their important functional roles in scientific practices, philosophers of science have more or less neglected visual representations in their analyses of epistemic methods and tools of reasoning in science. This book is meant to fill this gap. It presents a detailed investigation into central conceptual issues and into the epistemology of visual representations in science.

Neurons in sparkling space: scientific objectivity and ‘blurry’ images in neuroscience

“…Data displays such as graphs might prove evidential to a conclusion [Perini, 2005]; other images can show the object of analysis [Biagioli, 2006]; others serve to present an especially controversial depiction of scientific objects for political reasons [Sommer, 2006]; some might serve educational functions or be incorporated into broader process descriptions [Alcíbar, 2017;Van Eijck and Roth, 2008]; or, a scientific image, such as a macro-depiction of migration routes, might serve as a tool of enculturation in educational settings [Van Dijck, 2006]. Mößner [2018] argues that the particular function likely relates to the "modes and aims of communication on the content transmitted" and that scientists "attempt to adapt the idea to an assumed level of the audience's background knowledge" and situated context, revealing which aspects scientists and image designers think essential or relevant [p. 326-327]. Mößner's conclusions resonate with the ideas forwarded in this article.…”