Chen, Yian (2026) Explanations by Functional Noise: Lessons from Swarm Intelligence. In: UNSPECIFIED.
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Abstract
This paper examines the explanatory role of noise in swarm intelligence. I introduce the concept of explanations by functional noise, where noise plays a positive functional role in the explanans. Through a case study of ant colony path optimization, I analyze the distinctive features of such explanations and demonstrate how these features challenge a narrow notion of mechanistic explanation. More broadly, by contrasting explanations in virtue of noise with explanations in spite of noise and articulating a finer-grained taxonomy of functional noise, I highlight the heterogeneous ways in which noise figures in the explanatory practices of complexity science.
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| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (UNSPECIFIED) | ||||||
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| Keywords: | swarm intelligence; complex systems; functional noise; non-mechanistic explanation | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Complex Systems General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Reductionism/Holism |
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| Depositing User: | Mr. Yian Chen | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 08 Jun 2026 18:29 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 08 Jun 2026 18:29 | ||||||
| Item ID: | 29955 | ||||||
| Subjects: | Specific Sciences > Complex Systems General Issues > Explanation General Issues > Reductionism/Holism |
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| Date: | 6 June 2026 | ||||||
| URI: | https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/29955 |
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