The Explanatory Potential of Artificial Societies
Grüne-Yanoff, Till (2007) The Explanatory Potential of Artificial Societies.
This is the latest version of this eprint.
Full text available as: |
Abstract
It is often claimed that artificial society simulations contribute to the explanation of social phenomena. At the hand of a particular example, this paper argues that artificial societies often cannot provide full explanations, because their models are not or cannot be validated. Instead, artificial societies may sometimes provide potential explanations. It is shown that these potential explanations, if they contribute to our understanding, considerably differ from the standard kind of potential causal explanations. Instead of possible causal histories, simulations offer possible functional analyses of the explanandum. The paper discusses how these two kinds of potential explanations differ, and how possible functional analyses can be appraised.
| Keywords: | Simulation, Explanation, Agent-Based Models, Computational Social Science |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | General Issues: Models and Idealization General Issues: Explanation Specific Sciences: Complex Systems General Issues: History of Science Case Studies |
| ID Code: | 3669 |
| Deposited By: | Gruene-Yanoff, Till |
| Deposited On: | 24 November 2007 |
Available Versions of this Item
- The Explanatory Potential of Artificial Societies (deposited 24 November 2007) [Currently Displayed]