Final answer:
Tarski's model theory challenges traditional theories by emphasizing semantics and interpretive structures, suggesting that truth is determined by the correspondence between linguistic terms and real-world referents through models. It merges abstract theory with applied models, influencing the relationship between formal systems and empirical reality.
Step-by-step explanation:
Tarski's model theory fundamentally challenges and redefines the traditional understanding of theories and models by shifting the emphasis from the linguistic expressions of theories to their interpretive structures. In particular, it focuses on the role of semantics in understanding the truth conditions of a language. Tarski introduced a method to formally define truth for formal languages, emphasizing the relationship between linguistic symbols and their referents in the world.
According to Tarski, a model is a mathematical structure that gives meaning to the terms of a formal language in such a way that the statements of the language are true. This contrasts with the traditional view where theories are seen as abstract sets of propositions. In the realist view, for example, theories are accepted based on how well their predictions match empirical reality, reflecting a correspondence theory of truth. On the other hand, Tarski's approach aligns more closely with the instrumentalist view, which regards theories as tools for prediction without necessarily making ontological commitments about whether the model perfectly represents reality.