Philosophical Computation by Josh K
Complex Systems in the Social and Behavioral Sciences ed. Elliot and Kiel, 2021
Philosophers have long tried to understand scientific change in terms of a dynamics of revision w... more Philosophers have long tried to understand scientific change in terms of a dynamics of revision within 'theoretical frameworks,' 'disciplinary matrices,' 'scientific paradigms' or 'conceptual schemes.' No-one, however, has made clear precisely how one might model such a conceptual scheme, nor what form change dynamics within such a structure could be expected to take. In this paper we take some first steps in applying network theory to the issue, modeling conceptual schemes as simple networks and the dynamics of change as cascades on those networks. The results allow a new understanding of two traditional approaches-Popper and Kuhn-as well as introducing the intriguing prospect of viewing scientific change using the metaphor of self-organizing criticality.
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Philosophical Computation by Josh K