Tarja Knuuttila is a philosopher of science studying scientific modeling, representation, and interdisciplinary relations between different scientific disciplines. As part of her philosophical work, she has developed an artefactual account of scientific modeling that contributes to our understanding of what makes models epistemically fruitful (Knuuttila 2005, 2011, 2018). Although the philosophical questions she is interested in are general, her approach is geared towards contemporary science and is practice-oriented. In particular, she combines philosophical analysis with historical and empirical case studies, often in collaboration with scientists or scholars from the history and sociology of science. In addition to synthetic biology and economics, she has been working on language technology and on the engineering sciences more generally, as well as on the commercialization of scientific research.
One of her areas of expertise is science and technology studies – she served as an Editor-in-Chief of Science & Technology Studies. For this project, she is focusing on the modal dimension of scientific modeling, especially in the context of the life sciences. Another goal of hers is to further develop the artefactual approach to modeling. Finally, she is addressing the dissemination of formal and computational methods across disciplinary boundaries through the close study of some widely used model templates.
Tarja Knuuttila is a philosopher of science studying scientific modeling, representation, and interdisciplinary relations between different scientific disciplines. As part of her philosophical work, she has developed an artefactual account of scientific modeling that contributes to our understanding of what makes models epistemically fruitful (Knuuttila 2005, 2011, 2018). Although the philosophical questions she is interested in are general, her approach is geared towards contemporary science and is practice-oriented. In particular, she combines philosophical analysis with historical and empirical case studies, often in collaboration with scientists or scholars from the history and sociology of science. In addition to synthetic biology and economics, she has been working on language technology and on the engineering sciences more generally, as well as on the commercialization of scientific research.
One of her areas of expertise is science and technology studies – she served as an Editor-in-Chief of Science & Technology Studies. For this project, she is focusing on the modal dimension of scientific modeling, especially in the context of the life sciences. Another goal of hers is to further develop the artefactual approach to modeling. Finally, she is addressing the dissemination of formal and computational methods across disciplinary boundaries through the close study of some widely used model templates.
Habilitation, Theoretical Philosophy, University of Helsinki
PhD, Theoretical Philosophy, University of Helsinki