When Maps Become the World

"When Maps Become the World explores how scientific theories, models, and concepts used to represent and intervene in the world function as maps, and the consequences of this, both good and bad. Maps are not the territory they describe but abstractions from it, or models of it. By preserving certain features of the modeled world at the expense of distorting others, scientific abstractions can be useful within a set scope and for particular purposes. Maps not only summarize, organize, and clarify, they also often disclose new, previously unnoticed facts. In this book Rasmus Winther examines the properties, promises, and limits of scientific knowledge and practice through a philosophical analysis of scientific maps. Because, he argues, they should always be considered fallible and limited, he teaches his readers to use analytic tools to resist "when maps become the world.""--