John Foster and Jason Potts
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199290475
- eISBN:
- 9780191603495
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199290474.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic Systems
This chapter argues that evolutionary economics should be founded upon complex systems theory rather than neo-Darwinian analogies concerning natural selection, which focus on supply side ...
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This chapter argues that evolutionary economics should be founded upon complex systems theory rather than neo-Darwinian analogies concerning natural selection, which focus on supply side considerations and competition amongst firms and technologies. It suggests that conceptions such as production and consumption functions should be replaced by network representations, in which the preferences or, more correctly, the aspirations of consumers are fundamental and, as such, the primary drivers of economic growth. Technological innovation is viewed as a process that is intermediate between these aspirational networks, and the organizational networks in which goods and services are produced. Consumer knowledge becomes at least as important as producer knowledge in determining how economic value is generated. It becomes clear that the stability afforded by connective systems of rules is essential for economic flexibility to exist, but that too many rules result in inert and structurally unstable states. In contrast, too few rules result in a more stable state, but at a low level of ordered complexity. Economic evolution from this perspective is explored using random and scale free network representations of complex systems.Less
This chapter argues that evolutionary economics should be founded upon complex systems theory rather than neo-Darwinian analogies concerning natural selection, which focus on supply side considerations and competition amongst firms and technologies. It suggests that conceptions such as production and consumption functions should be replaced by network representations, in which the preferences or, more correctly, the aspirations of consumers are fundamental and, as such, the primary drivers of economic growth. Technological innovation is viewed as a process that is intermediate between these aspirational networks, and the organizational networks in which goods and services are produced. Consumer knowledge becomes at least as important as producer knowledge in determining how economic value is generated. It becomes clear that the stability afforded by connective systems of rules is essential for economic flexibility to exist, but that too many rules result in inert and structurally unstable states. In contrast, too few rules result in a more stable state, but at a low level of ordered complexity. Economic evolution from this perspective is explored using random and scale free network representations of complex systems.
Dawn R. Gilpin and Priscilla J. Murphy
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328721
- eISBN:
- 9780199869930
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328721.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Strategy
This chapter focuses on the key difference between the two paradigms of crisis management described in Chapters 2 and 3. The traditional crisis planning process described in Chapter 2 depends on the ...
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This chapter focuses on the key difference between the two paradigms of crisis management described in Chapters 2 and 3. The traditional crisis planning process described in Chapter 2 depends on the ability of managers to predict and control multiple features of crisis situations: how organizations will behave during a crisis, how publics will respond to efforts to contain or repair the crisis, and how the company's actions will affect subsequent outcomes. The complexity view described in Chapter 3 substantially limits actors' ability to either predict or control all the interacting elements that make up a complex system.Less
This chapter focuses on the key difference between the two paradigms of crisis management described in Chapters 2 and 3. The traditional crisis planning process described in Chapter 2 depends on the ability of managers to predict and control multiple features of crisis situations: how organizations will behave during a crisis, how publics will respond to efforts to contain or repair the crisis, and how the company's actions will affect subsequent outcomes. The complexity view described in Chapter 3 substantially limits actors' ability to either predict or control all the interacting elements that make up a complex system.
Peter Carruthers
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199207077
- eISBN:
- 9780191708909
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199207077.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This chapter begins by outlining the various challenges faced by the massive modularity hypothesis, most of which turn on one or another form of cognitive flexibility. It outlines the role of mental ...
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This chapter begins by outlining the various challenges faced by the massive modularity hypothesis, most of which turn on one or another form of cognitive flexibility. It outlines the role of mental rehearsal and inner speech in explaining stimulus independence, and it explores how language may play a role in integrating contents deriving from modular systems that would not otherwise communicate with one another. It outlines a two-systems theory of human reasoning processes, and explains how cycles of inner speech might serve to realize the operations of System 2. It also contrasts the views being defended with a variety of other proposals concerning the role of language in human cognition.Less
This chapter begins by outlining the various challenges faced by the massive modularity hypothesis, most of which turn on one or another form of cognitive flexibility. It outlines the role of mental rehearsal and inner speech in explaining stimulus independence, and it explores how language may play a role in integrating contents deriving from modular systems that would not otherwise communicate with one another. It outlines a two-systems theory of human reasoning processes, and explains how cycles of inner speech might serve to realize the operations of System 2. It also contrasts the views being defended with a variety of other proposals concerning the role of language in human cognition.
Uwe Steinhoff
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199547807
- eISBN:
- 9780191720758
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547807.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Theory
The chapter provides a detailed description and critical discussion of Habermas' attempts to make the theory of communicative action and discourse ethics fruitful beyond the narrower moral and ...
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The chapter provides a detailed description and critical discussion of Habermas' attempts to make the theory of communicative action and discourse ethics fruitful beyond the narrower moral and ethical realm and, conversely, to find confirmation for it in empirical theories. Habermas refers to the research areas of psychology and social evolution and to political and sociological issues around which the “Critical Theory of Society” is to take concrete form. Concerning psychology, he develops or adopts theories of ego-development, moral development and “communication pathologies”. As it concerns social evolution he proposes theories of hominisation and socio-cultural evolution. In dealing with the political and sociological issues he is most productive, offering a theory of social order, his famous colonialisation thesis, his discourse theory of law and the constitutional state, and his theory of modernity.Less
The chapter provides a detailed description and critical discussion of Habermas' attempts to make the theory of communicative action and discourse ethics fruitful beyond the narrower moral and ethical realm and, conversely, to find confirmation for it in empirical theories. Habermas refers to the research areas of psychology and social evolution and to political and sociological issues around which the “Critical Theory of Society” is to take concrete form. Concerning psychology, he develops or adopts theories of ego-development, moral development and “communication pathologies”. As it concerns social evolution he proposes theories of hominisation and socio-cultural evolution. In dealing with the political and sociological issues he is most productive, offering a theory of social order, his famous colonialisation thesis, his discourse theory of law and the constitutional state, and his theory of modernity.
Adrian Vermeule
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199838455
- eISBN:
- 9780199932481
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199838455.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
A constitutional order is a system of systems. It is an aggregate of interacting institutions, which are themselves aggregates of interacting individuals. This book analyzes constitutionalism through ...
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A constitutional order is a system of systems. It is an aggregate of interacting institutions, which are themselves aggregates of interacting individuals. This book analyzes constitutionalism through the lens of systems theory, originally developed in biology, computer science, political science, and other disciplines. Systems theory illuminates both the structural constitution and constitutional judging, and reveals that standard views and claims about constitutional theory commit fallacies of aggregation and are thus invalid. By contrast, this book explains and illustrates an approach to constitutionalism that considers the systemic interactions of legal and political institutions and of the individuals who act within them.Less
A constitutional order is a system of systems. It is an aggregate of interacting institutions, which are themselves aggregates of interacting individuals. This book analyzes constitutionalism through the lens of systems theory, originally developed in biology, computer science, political science, and other disciplines. Systems theory illuminates both the structural constitution and constitutional judging, and reveals that standard views and claims about constitutional theory commit fallacies of aggregation and are thus invalid. By contrast, this book explains and illustrates an approach to constitutionalism that considers the systemic interactions of legal and political institutions and of the individuals who act within them.
Dr Mitch Blair, Professor Sarah Stewart-Brown, Dr Tony Waterston, and Dr Rachel Crowther
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199547500
- eISBN:
- 9780191720123
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199547500.001.0001
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
Despite children making up around a quarter of the population, the first edition of this book was the first to focus on a public health approach to the health and sickness of children and young ...
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Despite children making up around a quarter of the population, the first edition of this book was the first to focus on a public health approach to the health and sickness of children and young people. It combined clinical and academic perspectives to explore the current state of health of our children, the historical roots of the speciality, and the relationship between early infant and child health on later adult health. Child public health is a rapidly developing field, and is increasingly recognised throughout the world as a major area of focus for population health. Targeting the health of children now is essential if we are to achieve a healthy population as adults. For the second edition the text has been revised and updated with new material on health for all children, global warming, child participation, systems theory, refugees, commissioning, and sustainable development.Less
Despite children making up around a quarter of the population, the first edition of this book was the first to focus on a public health approach to the health and sickness of children and young people. It combined clinical and academic perspectives to explore the current state of health of our children, the historical roots of the speciality, and the relationship between early infant and child health on later adult health. Child public health is a rapidly developing field, and is increasingly recognised throughout the world as a major area of focus for population health. Targeting the health of children now is essential if we are to achieve a healthy population as adults. For the second edition the text has been revised and updated with new material on health for all children, global warming, child participation, systems theory, refugees, commissioning, and sustainable development.
Domitilla Del Vecchio and Richard M. Murray
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691161532
- eISBN:
- 9781400850501
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691161532.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Biochemistry / Molecular Biology
This chapter provides a brief introduction to concepts from systems biology; tools from differential equations and control theory; and approaches to the modeling, analysis, and design of biomolecular ...
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This chapter provides a brief introduction to concepts from systems biology; tools from differential equations and control theory; and approaches to the modeling, analysis, and design of biomolecular feedback systems. It begins with a discussion of the role of modeling, analysis, and feedback in biological systems. This is followed by a short review of key concepts and tools from control and dynamical systems theory, which is intended to provide insight into the main methodology described in this volume. Finally, this chapter gives another brief introduction—this time to the field of synthetic biology, which is the primary topic of the latter portion of this book.Less
This chapter provides a brief introduction to concepts from systems biology; tools from differential equations and control theory; and approaches to the modeling, analysis, and design of biomolecular feedback systems. It begins with a discussion of the role of modeling, analysis, and feedback in biological systems. This is followed by a short review of key concepts and tools from control and dynamical systems theory, which is intended to provide insight into the main methodology described in this volume. Finally, this chapter gives another brief introduction—this time to the field of synthetic biology, which is the primary topic of the latter portion of this book.
Lisa M. Oakes, Nora S. Newcombe, and Jodie M. Plumert
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195300598
- eISBN:
- 9780199867165
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300598.003.0013
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter addresses the question of whether dynamic systems and connectionist approaches are an alternative to good old-fashioned cognitive development (GOFCD). The chapter is organized as ...
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This chapter addresses the question of whether dynamic systems and connectionist approaches are an alternative to good old-fashioned cognitive development (GOFCD). The chapter is organized as follows. The first section discusses what connectionism and dynamic systems bring to the study of cognitive development. The second section examines how connectionist and dynamic systems theories relate to other GOFCD theories of developmental change. The third section evaluates the contribution of connectionism and dynamic systems in more depth by examining explanations of two historically important issues in cognitive development: infants' behavior in the A-not-B task and children's solutions to the balance scale problem. Finally, the chapter considers how well connectionist and dynamic systems approaches address criticisms often leveled at other theories of cognitive development.Less
This chapter addresses the question of whether dynamic systems and connectionist approaches are an alternative to good old-fashioned cognitive development (GOFCD). The chapter is organized as follows. The first section discusses what connectionism and dynamic systems bring to the study of cognitive development. The second section examines how connectionist and dynamic systems theories relate to other GOFCD theories of developmental change. The third section evaluates the contribution of connectionism and dynamic systems in more depth by examining explanations of two historically important issues in cognitive development: infants' behavior in the A-not-B task and children's solutions to the balance scale problem. Finally, the chapter considers how well connectionist and dynamic systems approaches address criticisms often leveled at other theories of cognitive development.
John P. Spencer, Evelina Dineva, and Gregor Schöner
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195300598
- eISBN:
- 9780199867165
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300598.003.0018
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter seeks to articulate and clarify cases of perceived differences between dynamical systems theory (DST) and the connectionist (CN) approaches that are not real, as well as cases of ...
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This chapter seeks to articulate and clarify cases of perceived differences between dynamical systems theory (DST) and the connectionist (CN) approaches that are not real, as well as cases of perceived differences that are real. It discusses the implications of efforts to integrate the two approaches for developmental science more generally. Clarifying similarities/differences between approaches offers far more that just technical clarity for co-called modeler types; it offers a vision of a new, integrative, developmental theory.Less
This chapter seeks to articulate and clarify cases of perceived differences between dynamical systems theory (DST) and the connectionist (CN) approaches that are not real, as well as cases of perceived differences that are real. It discusses the implications of efforts to integrate the two approaches for developmental science more generally. Clarifying similarities/differences between approaches offers far more that just technical clarity for co-called modeler types; it offers a vision of a new, integrative, developmental theory.
Gary Blasi and John T. Jost
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199737512
- eISBN:
- 9780199918638
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199737512.003.0003
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter reviews theory and research on System Justification Theory (SJT) and summarizes key implications for law, lawyers, and social justice advocacy. According to SJT, lawyers should attend to ...
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This chapter reviews theory and research on System Justification Theory (SJT) and summarizes key implications for law, lawyers, and social justice advocacy. According to SJT, lawyers should attend to all relevant social orders and implicit as well as explicit biases in selecting jurors and developing advocacy strategies. The theory identifies important obstacles to social change, including changes in the law and legal scholarship. This chapter highlights some of the ways in which system justification motives result in behaviors that are unanticipated by current models of legal thinking. It discusses the persuasive power of “reframing,” whereby advocates can deploy narrative to exacerbate or diminish the system-justifying motives of legal and public policy decision-makers.Less
This chapter reviews theory and research on System Justification Theory (SJT) and summarizes key implications for law, lawyers, and social justice advocacy. According to SJT, lawyers should attend to all relevant social orders and implicit as well as explicit biases in selecting jurors and developing advocacy strategies. The theory identifies important obstacles to social change, including changes in the law and legal scholarship. This chapter highlights some of the ways in which system justification motives result in behaviors that are unanticipated by current models of legal thinking. It discusses the persuasive power of “reframing,” whereby advocates can deploy narrative to exacerbate or diminish the system-justifying motives of legal and public policy decision-makers.
Gregor Schöner
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195300598
- eISBN:
- 9780199867165
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300598.003.0002
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology
Dynamical systems thinking can provide metaphors that help ask new questions, generate new experimental paradigms and measures, and lead to new kinds of explanations. This chapter reviews dynamical ...
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Dynamical systems thinking can provide metaphors that help ask new questions, generate new experimental paradigms and measures, and lead to new kinds of explanations. This chapter reviews dynamical systems theory (DST) as a set of concepts that formalizes such metaphors and thus becomes a scientific theory of considerable rigor. It considers five concepts: (1) Behavioral patterns resist change; that is, they are stable. This may be mathematically characterized by considering behavioral patterns as the attractor states of a dynamical system. (2) Behavioral change is brought about by a loss of stability. (3) Representations possess stability properties, as well, and can be understood as the attractor states of dynamic fields, that is, of continuous distributions of neuronal activation. (4) Cognitive processes emerge from instabilities of dynamic fields. (5) Learning occurs as changes in behavioral or field dynamics that shift the behavioral and environmental context in which these instabilities occur.Less
Dynamical systems thinking can provide metaphors that help ask new questions, generate new experimental paradigms and measures, and lead to new kinds of explanations. This chapter reviews dynamical systems theory (DST) as a set of concepts that formalizes such metaphors and thus becomes a scientific theory of considerable rigor. It considers five concepts: (1) Behavioral patterns resist change; that is, they are stable. This may be mathematically characterized by considering behavioral patterns as the attractor states of a dynamical system. (2) Behavioral change is brought about by a loss of stability. (3) Representations possess stability properties, as well, and can be understood as the attractor states of dynamic fields, that is, of continuous distributions of neuronal activation. (4) Cognitive processes emerge from instabilities of dynamic fields. (5) Learning occurs as changes in behavioral or field dynamics that shift the behavioral and environmental context in which these instabilities occur.
Timothy D. Johnston and Robert Lickliter
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195300598
- eISBN:
- 9780199867165
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300598.003.0014
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter draws attention to some aspects of development that are considered underrepresented in both dynamic systems theory (DST) and connectionism. The approach taken is that of developmental ...
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This chapter draws attention to some aspects of development that are considered underrepresented in both dynamic systems theory (DST) and connectionism. The approach taken is that of developmental systems theory, which shares with DST a focus on the whole organism in its environment, and with connectionism a focus on the biological support for psychological change. It adds to those perspectives, a concern with more levels of biological analysis (including genetics), the incorporation of comparative, animal-based research, and attention to evolutionary considerations in the analysis of psychological change.Less
This chapter draws attention to some aspects of development that are considered underrepresented in both dynamic systems theory (DST) and connectionism. The approach taken is that of developmental systems theory, which shares with DST a focus on the whole organism in its environment, and with connectionism a focus on the biological support for psychological change. It adds to those perspectives, a concern with more levels of biological analysis (including genetics), the incorporation of comparative, animal-based research, and attention to evolutionary considerations in the analysis of psychological change.
Paul van Geert and Kurt W. Fischer
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195300598
- eISBN:
- 9780199867165
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300598.003.0016
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter discusses the question of how dynamic systems theory can be fruitfully applied to the development of the kind of phenomena and variables that have been of interest for a long time. ...
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This chapter discusses the question of how dynamic systems theory can be fruitfully applied to the development of the kind of phenomena and variables that have been of interest for a long time. Examples of these phenomena are (a) the development of language, including the development of the lexicon and syntactic and grammatical knowledge and skill; (b) the development of cognition and thinking, including the emergence and acquisition of cognitive skills and knowledge in various domains; (c) the development of reflective judgment, including metacognition and social understanding; and (d) the development of social skills and behavior. Behind all these phenomena are the development of context-specific but overarching principles of skill formation, such as principles of relationships, systems of relationships, and so on.Less
This chapter discusses the question of how dynamic systems theory can be fruitfully applied to the development of the kind of phenomena and variables that have been of interest for a long time. Examples of these phenomena are (a) the development of language, including the development of the lexicon and syntactic and grammatical knowledge and skill; (b) the development of cognition and thinking, including the emergence and acquisition of cognitive skills and knowledge in various domains; (c) the development of reflective judgment, including metacognition and social understanding; and (d) the development of social skills and behavior. Behind all these phenomena are the development of context-specific but overarching principles of skill formation, such as principles of relationships, systems of relationships, and so on.
Bob McMurray, Jessica S. Horst, Joseph C. Toscano, and Larissa K. Samuelson
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195300598
- eISBN:
- 9780199867165
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300598.003.0011
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter examines the interplay of dynamical systems and connectionism at the level of both theory and computation. It begins with a discussion of developmental mechanism focusing on two ...
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This chapter examines the interplay of dynamical systems and connectionism at the level of both theory and computation. It begins with a discussion of developmental mechanism focusing on two particular processes—one typically associated with connectionist approaches and one typically associated with dynamical systems. It then illustrates potential hybrid approaches with case studies from the field of language acquisition. The first—a model of speech category learning—illustrates how a dynamical systems perspective may inform a classic connectionist mechanism (i.e., statistical learning). The second—a model of early word learning—combines connectionist and dynamical systems principles. Both suggest that we can no longer treat these two paradigms as independent.Less
This chapter examines the interplay of dynamical systems and connectionism at the level of both theory and computation. It begins with a discussion of developmental mechanism focusing on two particular processes—one typically associated with connectionist approaches and one typically associated with dynamical systems. It then illustrates potential hybrid approaches with case studies from the field of language acquisition. The first—a model of speech category learning—illustrates how a dynamical systems perspective may inform a classic connectionist mechanism (i.e., statistical learning). The second—a model of early word learning—combines connectionist and dynamical systems principles. Both suggest that we can no longer treat these two paradigms as independent.
James Ladyman, Don Ross, and and David Spurrett with John Collier
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199276196
- eISBN:
- 9780191706127
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199276196.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology, Philosophy of Science
This book argues that the only kind of metaphysics that can contribute to objective knowledge is one based specifically on contemporary science as it really is, and not on philosophers' a priori ...
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This book argues that the only kind of metaphysics that can contribute to objective knowledge is one based specifically on contemporary science as it really is, and not on philosophers' a priori intuitions, common sense, or simplifications of science. In addition to showing how recent metaphysics has drifted away from connection with all other serious scholarly inquiry as a result of not heeding this restriction, this book demonstrates how to build a metaphysics compatible with current fundamental physics (“ontic structural realism”), which, when combined with metaphysics of the special sciences (“rainforest realism”), can be used to unify physics with the other sciences without reducing these sciences to physics itself. Taking science metaphysically seriously, this book argues, means that metaphysicians must abandon the picture of the world as composed of self-subsistent individual objects, and the paradigm of causation as the collision of such objects. The text assesses the role of information theory and complex systems theory in attempts to explain the relationship between the special sciences and physics, treading a middle road between the grand synthesis of thermodynamics and information, and eliminativism about information. The consequences of the books' metaphysical theory for central issues in the philosophy of science are explored, including the implications for the realism versus empiricism debate, the role of causation in scientific explanations, the nature of causation and laws, the status of abstract and virtual objects, and the objective reality of natural kinds.Less
This book argues that the only kind of metaphysics that can contribute to objective knowledge is one based specifically on contemporary science as it really is, and not on philosophers' a priori intuitions, common sense, or simplifications of science. In addition to showing how recent metaphysics has drifted away from connection with all other serious scholarly inquiry as a result of not heeding this restriction, this book demonstrates how to build a metaphysics compatible with current fundamental physics (“ontic structural realism”), which, when combined with metaphysics of the special sciences (“rainforest realism”), can be used to unify physics with the other sciences without reducing these sciences to physics itself. Taking science metaphysically seriously, this book argues, means that metaphysicians must abandon the picture of the world as composed of self-subsistent individual objects, and the paradigm of causation as the collision of such objects. The text assesses the role of information theory and complex systems theory in attempts to explain the relationship between the special sciences and physics, treading a middle road between the grand synthesis of thermodynamics and information, and eliminativism about information. The consequences of the books' metaphysical theory for central issues in the philosophy of science are explored, including the implications for the realism versus empiricism debate, the role of causation in scientific explanations, the nature of causation and laws, the status of abstract and virtual objects, and the objective reality of natural kinds.
John Spencer (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195300598
- eISBN:
- 9780199867165
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300598.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology
From William James to Sigmund Freud to Jean Piaget to B. F. Skinner, scholars (and parents) have wondered how children move from the blooming, buzzing confusion of infancy, through the tumult of ...
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From William James to Sigmund Freud to Jean Piaget to B. F. Skinner, scholars (and parents) have wondered how children move from the blooming, buzzing confusion of infancy, through the tumult of childhood and adolescence, into adulthood. Does development occur continuously over time or in a series of dramatic stages? Is development driven by learning or by biological maturational processes? What is the nature of experience, and how does it generate change? The study of development has always been organized around these big questions. Answers to these questions have a profound influence on daily life, forming a framework for how parents think about their own children, and influencing both national policy and educational curricula. This book defines and refines two major theoretical approaches within developmental science that address the central issues of development-connectionism and dynamical systems theory. The chapters in this book provide an introduction, overview, and critical evaluation of each approach, including three sets of case studies that illustrate how these approaches have been used to study topics ranging from early motor development to the acquisition of grammar. It also presents a collection of commentaries by leading scholars, which offer a critical view from both an “outsiders” and an “insiders” perspective.Less
From William James to Sigmund Freud to Jean Piaget to B. F. Skinner, scholars (and parents) have wondered how children move from the blooming, buzzing confusion of infancy, through the tumult of childhood and adolescence, into adulthood. Does development occur continuously over time or in a series of dramatic stages? Is development driven by learning or by biological maturational processes? What is the nature of experience, and how does it generate change? The study of development has always been organized around these big questions. Answers to these questions have a profound influence on daily life, forming a framework for how parents think about their own children, and influencing both national policy and educational curricula. This book defines and refines two major theoretical approaches within developmental science that address the central issues of development-connectionism and dynamical systems theory. The chapters in this book provide an introduction, overview, and critical evaluation of each approach, including three sets of case studies that illustrate how these approaches have been used to study topics ranging from early motor development to the acquisition of grammar. It also presents a collection of commentaries by leading scholars, which offer a critical view from both an “outsiders” and an “insiders” perspective.
Lorraine McCune
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195177879
- eISBN:
- 9780199870202
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177879.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter lays the theoretical foundations of the analyses in this book. The book addresses two major themes. First, language does not stand alone as the crowning achievement of infancy. Rather, ...
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This chapter lays the theoretical foundations of the analyses in this book. The book addresses two major themes. First, language does not stand alone as the crowning achievement of infancy. Rather, other equally complex achievements are ongoing and contribute to linguistic development. Second, a set of precursor achievements organized from a dynamic systems perspective can successfully predict, for individual children, the onset of referential word use. The use of dynamic systems theory to study how infants acquire language is discussed. An overview of the succeeding chapters is presented.Less
This chapter lays the theoretical foundations of the analyses in this book. The book addresses two major themes. First, language does not stand alone as the crowning achievement of infancy. Rather, other equally complex achievements are ongoing and contribute to linguistic development. Second, a set of precursor achievements organized from a dynamic systems perspective can successfully predict, for individual children, the onset of referential word use. The use of dynamic systems theory to study how infants acquire language is discussed. An overview of the succeeding chapters is presented.
Kevin S. McCann
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134178
- eISBN:
- 9781400840687
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134178.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This chapter introduces the reader to some of the main conceptual ideas behind dynamical systems theory from the perspective of an experimentalist. It first considers the qualitative approaches used ...
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This chapter introduces the reader to some of the main conceptual ideas behind dynamical systems theory from the perspective of an experimentalist. It first considers the qualitative approaches used to study complex problems before discussing dynamical systems and bifurcations. In particular, it examines the use of time series to represent solutions and dynamics in the phase space, phase space respresentations of equilibrium and nonequilibrium steady states, the qualitative analysis of steady states, and some of the mechanics of local stability analysis for an equilibrium using the Lotka–Volterra model for an equilibrium steady state. It also explores the relationship between the type of model dynamics and the geometry of the underlying mathematical functions. Finally, it presents an empirical example from ecology, Hopf bifurcation in an aquatic microcosm, to illustrate the main concepts of dynamical systems theory and shows that the mathematics of dynamical systems underlies the dynamics of real ecological systems.Less
This chapter introduces the reader to some of the main conceptual ideas behind dynamical systems theory from the perspective of an experimentalist. It first considers the qualitative approaches used to study complex problems before discussing dynamical systems and bifurcations. In particular, it examines the use of time series to represent solutions and dynamics in the phase space, phase space respresentations of equilibrium and nonequilibrium steady states, the qualitative analysis of steady states, and some of the mechanics of local stability analysis for an equilibrium using the Lotka–Volterra model for an equilibrium steady state. It also explores the relationship between the type of model dynamics and the geometry of the underlying mathematical functions. Finally, it presents an empirical example from ecology, Hopf bifurcation in an aquatic microcosm, to illustrate the main concepts of dynamical systems theory and shows that the mathematics of dynamical systems underlies the dynamics of real ecological systems.
Steven Hurst
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748620791
- eISBN:
- 9780748652686
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748620791.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This book provides a comprehensive description and critique of the six most important historical interpretations of US Cold War foreign policy: traditionalism, revisionism, post-revisionism, ...
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This book provides a comprehensive description and critique of the six most important historical interpretations of US Cold War foreign policy: traditionalism, revisionism, post-revisionism, corporatism, world systems theory, and post-structuralism. The book uses the ‘levels of analysis’ approach to demonstrate how each of these perspectives can be understood as an explanatory framework combining different types of factors located at different levels of the international system. This original way of explaining the work of the historians discussed helps the reader to see past the narrative and empirical elements of their writings and to grasp more clearly the underlying theoretical assumptions. In each chapter a description of the perspective's underlying theoretical framework and how it explains US foreign policy is followed by a critique of that theory and explanation. A central theme, developed throughout the book, is the difficulty of managing the constant tension between the explanatory power of theory and the historian's desire to encompass the complex totality of historical events. This critical companion can be read alongside the works of the historians themselves, showing how they have sought to explain US Cold War foreign policy and the key differences between their perspectives.Less
This book provides a comprehensive description and critique of the six most important historical interpretations of US Cold War foreign policy: traditionalism, revisionism, post-revisionism, corporatism, world systems theory, and post-structuralism. The book uses the ‘levels of analysis’ approach to demonstrate how each of these perspectives can be understood as an explanatory framework combining different types of factors located at different levels of the international system. This original way of explaining the work of the historians discussed helps the reader to see past the narrative and empirical elements of their writings and to grasp more clearly the underlying theoretical assumptions. In each chapter a description of the perspective's underlying theoretical framework and how it explains US foreign policy is followed by a critique of that theory and explanation. A central theme, developed throughout the book, is the difficulty of managing the constant tension between the explanatory power of theory and the historian's desire to encompass the complex totality of historical events. This critical companion can be read alongside the works of the historians themselves, showing how they have sought to explain US Cold War foreign policy and the key differences between their perspectives.
Denis Mareschal, Robert Leech, and Richard P. Cooper
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195300598
- eISBN:
- 9780199867165
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300598.003.0010
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter describes model of the development of simple analogical reasoning and shows how the model accounts for seven characteristics of children's developing abilities to reason analogically. It ...
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This chapter describes model of the development of simple analogical reasoning and shows how the model accounts for seven characteristics of children's developing abilities to reason analogically. It argues that the model's success is critically dependent upon principles of both connectionism and dynamic systems theory. Thus, the model demonstrates complementarity between the approaches.Less
This chapter describes model of the development of simple analogical reasoning and shows how the model accounts for seven characteristics of children's developing abilities to reason analogically. It argues that the model's success is critically dependent upon principles of both connectionism and dynamic systems theory. Thus, the model demonstrates complementarity between the approaches.
