ABSTRACT
The core of the Model-Theoretical View of Theories is that a theory is a family of models. So far, little has been said about what binds this family together. This makes the current formulations of the Model-Theoretical View what Halvorson calls a “flat view” of theories. Flat views contrast with “structured views”, which explicate what the family ties between the various members of the family of models are. In this chapter we discuss the structured view of theories that is associated with Munich Structuralism (MS), which offers a comprehensive answer to the question of how the models of a theory are related to each other. We start by introducing the main tenets of MS, and then articulate the notion of a theory’s empirical claim. MS’s analysis of theories offers a new perspective on the problem of theory-ladenness of observation, and one which is able to address some of the concerns we raised in Chapter 3. We conclude by noting some of the problems that attach to MS.
