ABSTRACT
We argue that considerations from the philosophy of simulation can illuminate the relationship between truth and success. The oft-cited success-to-truth rule, various formulations of which we discuss in the chapter, is problematized by way of four counter-examples that involve the use of “fictions” in modeling. We consider and reject various considerations against the claim that our counter-examples can be excluded as important counter-examples. But despite the fact that these fictions are useful counter-examples to the success-to-truth rule, we argue that they can be integrated into a broader epistemic optimism about science. It is a good thing, after all, that scientific research can be both opportunistic, taking advantage of the possibility of these “fictions”, and reliable.
