International Relations

There is a seductive appeal to the idea of a "generative social science". Joshua Epstein is one of the main proponents of the idea, most especially in his book, Generative Social Science: Studies in Agent-Based Computational Modeling . The central tool of generative social science is the construction of an agent-based model ( link ). The ABM is said to demonstrate the way in which an observable social outcome of pattern is generated by the properties and activities of the component parts that make it up -- the actors. The appeal comes from the notion that it is possible to show how complicated or complex outcomes are generated by the properties of the components that make them up. Fix the properties of the components, and you can derive the properties of the composites. Here is Epstein's capsule summary of the approach: The agent-based computational model -- or artificial society -- is a new scientific instrument. It can powerfully advance a distinctive approach to social...

In an earlier post I considered the topic of phase transitions as a possible source of emergent phenomena ( link ). I argued there that phase transitions are indeed interesting, but don't raise a serious problem of strong emergence. Tarun Menon considers this issue in substantial detail in the chapter he co-authored with Craig Callender in  The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Physics , "Turn and face the strange ... ch-ch-changes: Philosophical questions raised by phase transitions" ( link ). Menon and Callender provide a very careful and logical account of three ways of approaching the physics of phase transitions within physics and three versions of emergence (conceptual, explanatory, ontological). The piece is technical but very interesting, with a somewhat deflating conclusion (if you are a fan of emergence): We have found that when one clarifies concepts and digs into the details, with respect to standard textbook statistical mechanics, phase transitions are best th...