Is it possible to develop a confirmation theory for agent-based models? The are good reasons to be skeptical: Classical confirmation theory explains how empirical evidence bears on the truth of hypotheses and theories, while agent-based models are almost always idealized and hence known to be false. Moreover, classical ideas about confirmation have been developed for relatively simple hypotheses, while even the simplest agent-based models have thousands of variables. Nevertheless, we can draw on...
Dec 13, 2014•49 min•Ep. 5
One general problem faced by attempts to explain the origins of morality using traditional rational choice theory is that the demands of rationality and the demands of morality often fail to coincide. This can happen in at least three different ways. Sometimes our moral intuitions recommend actions which are identified as irrational (such as cooperating in the prisoner's dilemma or in the centipede game, or rejecting unfair offers in the ultimatum game). Sometimes our moral intuitions recommend ...
Dec 13, 2014•51 min•Ep. 4
Despite ubiquity and universality, norms are still awaiting for a general comprehensive theory. In the presentation, a conceptual, theoretical, and computational framework will be proposed to provide a general account of norms, enabling us to investigate: (a) differences and commonalities among social, moral, and legal norms; (b) norm emergence and change; (c) the individual properties involved or responsible for bringing about norms. The main thesis is that observable conformity is only the tip...
Dec 12, 2014•48 min•Ep. 6
One important area of study for social epistemology is the social structure epistemic groups -- who communicates their knowledge with whom? Significant research has been done on better and worse communication networks, but less has been done on how a group comes to have one network or another. In this talk, I will present a number of results (some recent) from economics and philosophy about how individuals choose with whom to communicate. Understanding how individuals decide where to gain inform...
Dec 12, 2014•49 min•Ep. 9
In the past two decades, agent-based models (ABMs) have become ubiquitous in philosophy and various sciences. ABMs have been applied, for example, to study the evolution of norms and language, to understand migration patterns of past civilizations, to investigate how population levels change in ecosystems over time, and more. In contrast with classical economic models or population-level models in biology, ABMs are praised for their lack of assumptions and their flexibility. Nonetheless, many of...
Dec 11, 2014•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 10
The sensitive dependence on initial condition associated with chaotic models, the so-called "Butterfly Effect", imposes limitations on the models’ predictive power. These limitations have been widely recognized and extensively discussed. In this lecture, Roman Frigg will draw attention to an additional so far under-appreciated problem, namely structural model error (SME). If a nonlinear model has only the slightest SME, then its ability to generate useful prediction is lost. This puts us in a wo...
Jan 10, 2014•56 min•Ep. 12
For the last thirty years, string theory has played a highly influential role in fundamental physics without having found empirical confirmation. The presentation will analyze reasons for the high degree of trust many physicists have developed in a theory that, according to classical standards of theory assessment, would have to be called an unconfirmed speculation. It will be argued that the case of string theory suggests a new perspective on our understanding of theory confirmation in general....
Dec 10, 2013•55 min•Ep. 15
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 16, 2013•50 min•Ep. 17
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 16, 2013•29 min•Ep. 18
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 16, 2013•34 min•Ep. 19
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 16, 2013•31 min•Ep. 20
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 16, 2013•40 min•Ep. 21
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 16, 2013•31 min•Ep. 22
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 15, 2013•33 min•Ep. 23
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 15, 2013•41 min•Ep. 24
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 15, 2013•26 min•Ep. 25
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 15, 2013•34 min•Ep. 26
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 15, 2013•29 min•Ep. 27
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 15, 2013•32 min•Ep. 28
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 15, 2013•28 min•Ep. 29
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 14, 2013•58 min•Ep. 30
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 14, 2013•28 min•Ep. 31
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 14, 2013•33 min•Ep. 32
[Conf.] Reduction and emergence play a central role in the relations of scientific theories and disciplines. Unfortunately, the discussion about reduction and emergence suffers from two uncertainties at once. On the one hand the concepts of reduction and especially emergence are not precisely defined, on the other hand there are few if any uncontentious cases of reduction or emergence in the sciences. This conference will bring together philosophers of science and scientists of different discipl...
Nov 14, 2013•51 min•Ep. 33
[Lect.] Matter is composed of small elementary particles whose behavior is predicted very accurately by modern physics. This has led to the suggestion that the fundamental theories of physics are ‘theories of everything’, since in principle they describe the evolution of all matter in the universe. But does the behavior of molecules, magnets and proteins really reduce to that of quarks, gluons and electrons? It often rather seems that the phenomena that occur at larger scales and with more compl...
Nov 13, 2013•44 min•Ep. 34
