Representing and Simulating: Toward an Epistemology of Computer Simulation

In the very last years, biology and life sciences have been massively based on computer simulations in order to explain molecular and cellular behaviors. Accordingly, there has been a growing interest in the concept of simulation also from a philosophy of science perspective.

In this talk I will aim to do the following things: 1) discuss some example of the use of multiagent systems for simulation of signal transduction pathways in cells, 2) give a definition of computer simulation in this area and compare it with other definitions, 3) offer an extension to the current epistemology of simulation, by relating it to important concepts, such as those of computational model and experiment.