ABSTRACT
The Model-Theoretical View of Theories, also known as the Semantic View of Theories, posits that a theory is family of models. We begin our discussion with Suppes’ version of the Model-Theoretical View and then give a survey of other versions of the approach. After reviewing the hopes and promises associated with the Model-Theoretical View, we examine the role of language in the Model-Theoretical View; we ask what it means for two theories to be identical; and we discuss the issue of unintended models. “Quietism” is a position according to which many of the problems we have been struggling with so far can be avoided by remaining quiet about what theories are. We introduce the position and argue that the philosophical problems we have been discussing so far cannot be exorcised in this way, and that we have to tackle these problems head on. We then discuss the Dual View of theories, which offers a positive suggestion of how this can be done.
