ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by discussing several different motivations for introducing idealizations into scientific models. The chapter then discusses a number of philosophical questions and debates that have arisen out of the various roles that idealizations play within scientific practice. Specifically, the chapter focuses on the following questions: can idealizations be eliminated from scientific models, can idealized models be decomposed into their accurate and inaccurate parts, and how can multiple conflicting models deepen scientific understanding? The chapter concludes by looking at the ways idealizations relate to the aims of science more generally.
