On the Epistemological, Ontological, Teleological and Methodological Currents in Modeling and Simulation

Abstract

Modeling and Simulation (M&S) has been used to solve problems, make decisions, and understand complex phenomena. Scholars have tried to understand and formulate the epistemic value of gained insights through models and simulations. Questions such as how insights are considered knowledge, what the tradeoff between perspectives and objectivity is, what kind of purpose models and simulations fulfill, and how M&S is used within a research methodology paradigm are a starting point of discussing the philosophical underpinnings. The epistemological, ontological, teleological and methodological (E/O/T/M) considerations of M&S is the main motivation of this paper. A comprehensive literature review on E/O/T/M considerations provides an initial roadmap to study the nature of M&S leading to the following questions: How can the authors define canons of research for M&S based on E/O/T/M? How can they define an E/O/T/M-based meta-model to characterize models and simulations? And how can the authors study validation of models and simulations based on E/O/T/M considerations?