´To the Point: A Good Place to Begin

What we philosophers have in common, beyond the fact that we largely disagree with one another( show me two philosophers who claim to be in accord on every issue, and I will show you, at least, one liar), is that we are all build models.  We could go so far as to divide philosophy into two phases / types: building models and playing with / testing them.

In my youth, I was an avid assembler of miniature airplanes, ships and other martial parephenalia ( I never had much interest in building little automobiles).  While I have largely abandoned assembling kit-based plastic models, I do continue to dabble in the symbolic visual arts.  This will, in fact, form the core of a future entry here (and, in a fashion, is at the unspoken center, or at least, the margins, of almost every entry that composes this blog)—the relationship between representation and represented is a question of utmost importance on any examination of modeling; no matter how you are using the word “model”.

Whether they are conscious of it, or not, philosophers are constantly building (and playing with models).

Here, my goal is twofold; an examination of philosophical models and modelling (making a model of the methods and tools that we philosophers use to make miniature worlds, at the same time, I want to exhibit several philosophical models—both of others, as well a few of my own