@article{BaedkeSchoettler2017,
  author    = {Baedke, Jan and Sch{\"o}ttler, Tobias},
  title     = {Visual Metaphors in the Sciences},
  series = {Journal for General Philosophy of Science},
  volume    = {48},
  journal   = {Journal for General Philosophy of Science},
  publisher = {Springer},
  address   = {Dordrecht},
  issn      = {0925-4560},
  doi       = {10.1007/s10838-016-9353-9},
  pages     = {173 -- 194},
  year      = {2017},
  abstract  = {Recent philosophical analyses of the epistemic dimension of images in the sciences show a certain trend in acknowledging potential roles of these images beyond their merely decorative or pedagogical functions. We argue, however, that this new debate has yet paid little attention to a special type of pictures, we call 'visual metaphor', and its versatile heuristic potential in organizing data, supporting communication, and guiding research, modeling, and theory formation. Based on a case study of Conrad Hal Waddington's epigenetic landscape images in biology, we develop a descriptive framework applicable to heuristic roles of various visual metaphors in the sciences.},
  language  = {en}
}