Charles, Rathkopf (2015) Network Representation and Complex Systems. [Preprint]
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Abstract
In this article, network science is discussed from a methodological per- spective, and two central theses are defended. The first is that network science exploits the very properties that make a system complex. Rather than using idealization techniques to strip those properties away, as is standard practice in other areas of science, network science brings them to the fore, and uses them to furnish new forms of explanation. The second thesis is that network representations are particularly helpful in explaining the properties of non-decomposable systems. Where part-whole decomposition is not possible, network science provides a much-needed alternative method of compressing information about the behavior of complex systems, and does so without succumbing to problems associated with combinatorial explosion. The article concludes with a comparison between the uses of network representation analyzed in the main discussion, and an entirely distinct use of network representation that has recently been discussed in connection with mechanistic modeling.
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| Item Type: | Preprint | ||||||
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| Keywords: | complex systems, explanation, networks, mechanistic models, non-decomposability | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Complex Systems General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Models and Idealization |
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| Depositing User: | Dr. Charles Rathkopf | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 06 Sep 2017 14:49 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 06 Sep 2017 14:49 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 13394 | ||||||
| DOI or Unique Handle: | 10.1007/s11229-015-0726-0 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Complex Systems General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Models and Idealization |
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| Date: | April 2015 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/13394 |
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