Cover -- Table of Contents -- Abbreviations and Acronyms -- Table of Figures -- List of Tables -- Preface -- I Introduction -- II Picture-like Means in Science -- 2.1 'Figure' - 'Image' - 'Picture' -- 2.1.1 Extended definition -- 2.1.2 Specifications -- 2.1.2.1 History-based specification -- 2.1.2.2 Case-based specification -- 2.1.2.3 Exclusive concept-based specification -- 2.1.2.4 Inclusive concept-based specification -- 2.1.3 Lessons learned -- 2.2 An epistemic account of picture-like means -- 2.2.1 Epistemic problems -- 2.2.1.1 Defining 'epistemic' -- 2.2.1.2 Analysing 'function' and functions -- 2.2.1.3 Desiderata: epistemic weight and epistemic surpluses -- 2.2.2 Figures and picture-likeness -- 2.2.2.1 What are scientific figures? -- 2.2.2.2 What makes scientific figures 'picture-like'? -- 2.3 Picture-like means in science as a philosophical problem -- 2.3.1 The failure of the purely linguistic view of representation -- 2.3.2 The role of picture-like means in recent accounts of science -- 2.3.3 Techno-science and the emergence of scientific visualisation -- III Examples -- 3.1 Example 1: modelling mesenchymal stem cell differentiation -- 3.1.1 Research objectives -- 3.1.2 Motivators -- 3.1.3 Initial assumptions (a) -- 3.1.4 Initial assumptions (b) -- 3.1.5 Model -- 3.1.6 Stability properties -- 3.1.7 Bifurcation properties -- 3.1.8 Single cell switching -- 3.1.9 Cell population effects -- 3.1.10 Discussion -- 3.2 Example 2: modelling signal transduction in mammal cells -- 3.2.1 Research objectives and motivators -- 3.2.2 Related work -- 3.2.3 Techniques combined -- 3.2.4 Schematic illustration of the cell model -- 3.2.5 Rendering scheme for proteins and trajectories -- 3.2.6 Rendering scheme for reactions -- 3.2.7 Tractability measures: cuts and transections -- 3.2.8 Tractability measures: depth cues.

3.2.9 Alternative rendering: microscopy-like images -- 3.2.10 Application I: transduction types for MAPK -- 3.2.11 Application II: delivery of drug molecules -- 3.2.12 Technical aspects -- 3.2.13 Results -- 3.2.14 Conclusion and future work -- 3.3 Abstractions -- 3.3.1 Functional involvement of figures -- 3.3.2 Practical implications of figure-likeness -- 3.3.3 Methodological relevance of figures -- 3.3.4 Compositional and representational aspects of figures -- 3.3.5 Observations on the prevalence of figures -- IV Epistemic Weight and Epistemic Surpluses -- 4.1 Recent accounts of picture-like means in science -- 4.1.1 Operational accounts: analysing modes of implementation -- 4.1.2 Ontological accounts: analysing traits of occurrence or identification -- 4.1.3 Functional accounts: analysing practical embeddings -- 4.1.4 Interim summary -- 4.2 An extended argument for the epistemic weight of picture-like means -- 4.2.1 The role of picture-like means -- 4.2.1.1 Picture-like means as arguments -- 4.2.1.2 Picture-like means in mere support of arguments -- 4.2.1.3 Picture-like means in arguments -- 4.2.2 Picture-likeness revisited -- 4.2.2.1 Learning from misconceptions -- 4.2.2.2 From referential systems towards symbol systems -- 4.2.2.3 What is a symbol system? -- 4.2.2.4 What makes a symbol system picture-like? -- 4.2.3 A case for the epistemic weight of picture-like means -- 4.2.4 Perini's account: problems and gaps -- 4.2.5 A case for the epistemic weight of syntactically dense systems -- 4.2.5.1 Continuous vs. strict dichotomies -- 4.2.5.2 The concept of ad hoc syntaxes -- 4.2.5.3 Explanatory potential -- 4.2.5.4 Ad hoc syntaxes in formal systems -- 4.2.5.5 Differences to other approaches -- 4.3 A new account of the epistemic surpluses of picture-like means -- 4.3.1 Issues with defining epistemic surpluses -- 4.3.2 Deficiency arguments.

4.3.2.1 Some ambiguities about ambiguity issues -- 4.3.2.2 On the (im-)possibility of formalising pictorial systems -- 4.3.3 Efficiency arguments -- 4.3.3.1 The new master argument: spatial efficiency -- 4.3.3.2 Internalised codes and the haunting intuition about similarity -- 4.3.3.3 Refining the notion of interaction -- V Outlook -- Summary (English) -- Summary (German) -- Literature.