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Is there something specific about modelling that distinguishes it from many other theoretical endeavours? We consider Michael Weisberg's ([2007], [2013]) thesis that modelling is a form of indirect representation through a close examination of the historical roots of the Lotka-Volterra model. While Weisberg discusses only Volterra's work, we also study Lotka's very different design of the Lotka-Volterra model. We will argue that while there are elements of indirect representation in both Volterra's and Lotka's modelling approaches, they are largely due to two other features of contemporary model construction processes that Weisberg does not explicitly consider: the methods-drivenness and outcome-orientedness of modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Synthetic biology is typically conceived of as a kind of engineering science. [•] The relationship of synthetic biology to engineering is more nuanced, involving a reflexive double bind to it. [•] The combinational modeling practice of synthetic biology is making it more biology-inspired. [•] One key part of the combinational modeling practice consists of synthetic modeling. [•] Synthetic models are constructed from biological material on the basis of mathematical models and their simulations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]