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Start Over Topic computational sociology Journal journal for the theory of social behaviour
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1. Emergence and Communication in Computational Sociology.

Author

Salgado, Mauricio and Gilbert, Nigel

Subjects
SOCIOLOGY, CAUSATION (Philosophy), ONTOLOGY, SOCIAL reality, CONSENSUS (Social sciences), THEORY of knowledge
Abstract

Computational sociology models social phenomena using the concepts of emergence and downward causation. However, the theoretical status of these concepts is ambiguous; they suppose too much ontology and are invoked by two opposed sociological interpretations of social reality: the individualistic and the holistic. This paper aims to clarify those concepts and argue in favour of their heuristic value for social simulation. It does so by proposing a link between the concept of emergence and Luhmann's theory of communication. For Luhmann, society emerges from the bottom-up as communication and he describes the process by which society limits the possible selections of individuals as downward causation. It is argued that this theory is well positioned to overcome some epistemological drawbacks in computational sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Published
2013
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2. Emergence and Communication in Computational Sociology

Author

Mauricio Salgado and Nigel Gilbert

Subjects
Value (ethics), Philosophy, Individualism, Social Psychology, Social reality, Ontology, Computational sociology, Sociology, Downward causation, General Psychology, Epistemology, Social simulation, Communication theory
Abstract

Computational sociology models social phenomena using the concepts of emergence and downward causation. However, the theoretical status of these concepts is ambiguous; they suppose too much ontology and are invoked by two opposed sociological interpretations of social reality: the individualistic and the holistic. This paper aims to clarify those concepts and argue in favour of their heuristic value for social simulation. It does so by proposing a link between the concept of emergence and Luhmann's theory of communication. For Luhmann, society emerges from the bottom-up as communication and he describes the process by which society limits the possible selections of individuals as downward causation. It is argued that this theory is well positioned to overcome some epistemological drawbacks in computational sociology. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Published
2012