Support for the System

1985 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 127-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Green
Keyword(s):  
General Theory ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Systems Theory ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Political Sociology ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Economic Models ◽  
Empirical Theory ◽  
Conception Of Man

So-called ‘general theory’, or ‘systems theory’, is now nearly friendless among political scientists. The charm it once held as an ordering framework for empirical research has given way to that of the economic models of the rational choice school. While the successor paradigm was self-consciously reacting against the ‘over-socialized’ conception of man underlying systems theory and political sociology in general, much of its broader appeal was founded on similar claims: the promise of a testable, empirical theory, and an aspiration to complete generality. Perhaps these two goals will turn out to be irreconcilable; there is some plausibility in the view that, in practical affairs anyway, the idea of a general empirical theory is a contradiction in terms. In this article, however, I wish to examine a problem for systems theory which is not due to this tension, one which has gone unnoticed, and which has survived the decline and fall of the research programme.

The Paradoxes of Allais and Ellsberg

1986 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Levi
Keyword(s):  
General Theory ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Expected Utility ◽  
John Dewey ◽  
Expected Value ◽  
Human Knowledge ◽  
Numerical Indicator ◽  
Charles Peirce ◽  
Oriented Approach

In The Enterprise of Knowledge (Levi, 1980a), I proposed a general theory of rational choice which I intended as a characterization of a prescriptive theory of ideal rationality. A cardinal tenet of this theory is that assessments of expected value or expected utility in the Bayesian sense may not be representable by a numerical indicator or indeed induce an ordering of feasible options in a context of deliberation. My reasons for taking this position are related to my commitment to the inquiry-oriented approach to human knowledge and valuation favored by the American pragmatists, Charles Peirce and John Dewey. A feature of any acceptable view of inquiry ought to be that during an inquiry points under dispute ought to be kept in suspense pending resolution through inquiry.

How can we restore the generality of the General Theory?

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 1397-1415 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teodoro Dario Togati
Keyword(s):  
General Theory ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Monetary Theory ◽  
Systematic Fashion ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Theory Of Production

AbstractIn this paper, I tackle the key issue raised by Pasinetti, namely why Keynes failed to accomplish his revolution and build a unifying ‘monetary theory of production’ framework. I argue that this occurred because, following his Marshallian background, he adopted an oversimplified view of the structure of theories, a problem which, following Leontief, might be labelled as ‘implicit theorising’ (IT). By making a comparison between the General Theory and standard macroeconomics based on Lakatos’s ‘research programme’ notion, this paper explores IT in a systematic fashion and stresses two key points. First, Keynes did not attack the ‘true’ orthodox postulates but only the conclusions deriving from them. Secondly, he failed to articulate his own research programme effectively. Based on these points, the paper concludes that filling such gaps in Keynes’s theory is the precondition for restoring his generality claim.

NEUROECONOMICS, NEUROPHYSIOLOGY AND THE COMMON CURRENCY HYPOTHESIS

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Landreth ◽  
John Bickle
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice ◽  
Dopamine Release ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
The Other ◽  
Common Currency ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Electrophysiological Methods

We briefly describe ways in which neuroeconomics has made contributions to its contributing disciplines, especially neuroscience, and a specific way in which it could make future contributions to both. The contributions of a scientific research programme can be categorized in terms of (1) description and classification of phenomena, (2) the discovery of causal relationships among those phenomena, and (3) the development of tools to facilitate (1) and (2). We consider ways in which neuroeconomics has advanced neuroscience and economics along each line. Then, focusing on electrophysiological methods, we consider a puzzle within neuroeconomics whose solution we believe could facilitate contributions to both neuroscience and economics, in line with category (2). This puzzle concerns how the brain assigns reward values to otherwise incomparable stimuli. According to the common currency hypothesis, dopamine release is a component of a neural mechanism that solves comparability problems. We review two versions of the common currency hypothesis, one proposed by Read Montague and colleagues, the other by William Newsome and colleagues, and fit these hypotheses into considerations of rational choice.

Towards a holistic conceptualisation of early childhood educators’ work-related well-being

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Cumming ◽  
Sandie Wong
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Systems Theory ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Key Aspects

Both the concept of well-being and the work of early childhood educators are complex. To date, research concerning educators’ well-being has lacked a comprehensive conceptualisation that reflects these complexities. With increased research, policy and practice attention, a clearly articulated conceptualisation is now needed to guide empirical research and practical efforts to better support educators’ well-being. In this article, the authors draw on multidisciplinary perspectives to propose such a conceptualisation. Philosophical, psychological, physiological, organisational science and sociological sources are explored and critiqued for their relevance to early childhood educators’ well-being. Key aspects of these sources, and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, are brought together to argue for a morally anchored conceptualisation which acknowledges that educators’ well-being is indivisible from the contexts in which it is experienced.

scholarly journals The CoCoME Platform: A Research Note on Empirical Studies in Information System Evolution

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (09n10) ◽  
pp. 1715-1720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Heinrich ◽  
Stefan Gärtner ◽  
Tom-Michael Hesse ◽  
Thomas Ruhroth ◽  
Ralf Reussner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Software Engineering ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Software Evolution ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Shared Knowledge ◽  
Competitive Edge ◽  
Large Research

Methods for supporting evolution of software-intensive systems are a competitive edge in software engineering as software is often operated over decades. Empirical research is useful to validate the effectiveness of these methods. However, empirical studies on software evolution are rarely comprehensive and hardly replicable. Collaboration may prevent these shortcomings. We designed CoCoMEP — a platform for supporting collaboration in empirical research on software evolution by shared knowledge. We report lessons learned from the application of the platform in a large research programme.

scholarly journals ‘Meaning’ as a sociological concept: A review of the modeling, mapping and simulation of the communication of knowledge and meaning

2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 391-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loet Leydesdorff
Keyword(s):  
Systems Theory ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Biological Perspective ◽  
Semantic Maps ◽  
Anticipatory Systems ◽  
Sociological Concept ◽  
Communication Of Meaning

The development of discursive knowledge presumes the communication of meaning as analytically different from the communication of information. Knowledge can then be considered as a meaning which makes a difference. Whereas the communication of information is studied in the information sciences and scientometrics, the communication of meaning has been central to Luhmann’s attempts to make the theory of autopoiesis relevant for sociology. Analytical techniques such as semantic maps and the simulation of anticipatory systems enable us to operationalize the distinctions which Luhmann proposed as relevant to the elaboration of Husserl’s ‘horizons of meaning’ in empirical research: (1) interactions among communications, (2) the organization of meaning in instantiations, and (3) the self-organization of interhuman communication in terms of symbolically generalized media such as truth, love and power. Horizons of meaning, however, remain uncertain orders of expectations, and one should caution against reification from the meta-biological perspective of systems theory.

Understanding China's Rising Rights Consciousness

2015 ◽  
Vol 223 ◽  
pp. 638-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Lorentzen ◽  
Suzanne Scoggins
Keyword(s):  
Rational Choice ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Social Stability ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Stabilizing Effect ◽  
Rights Consciousness

AbstractClaims that China's people are exhibiting a rising “rights consciousness” have become commonplace, with some suggesting this phenomenon is driving political change. Yet it is often unclear what the concept means, leading to ambiguous or contradictory conclusions from field research. In order to create a basis for more systematic analysis, we develop a rational choice framework that characterizes three different factors that could lead to rights-conscious behaviour: changing values, changing government policies, and changing expectations of the behaviour of others. What rising rights consciousness implies for social stability can vary dramatically, depending on which change is at work. Rights consciousness resulting from changes in values or in shared expectations of behaviour is destabilizing for the CCP's continued rule, whereas rights consciousness derived from government policies has a stabilizing effect. While in practice these can be interrelated in complex ways, empirical research would benefit from greater attention to these distinctions.

From Politik als Beruf to Politics as a Vocation

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Borchert
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Political Sociology ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
World War ◽  
Classical Text ◽  
Modern Politics ◽  
The Social

Max Weber's 1919 lecture Politik als Beruf is still considered a classical text in the social sciences. The reception of the text in the Anglo-Saxon world has been profoundly shaped by the translation provided by Hans H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills, first appearing in 1946. Their Politics as a Vocation is more than a vivid transposition of Weber's rather peculiar German rhetoric—it is rendered in a way that suggests a certain interpretation and makes others highly improbable. The present article traces the reception of Weber's text back to certain decisions made by the translators after World War II. It argues that the translation emphasized philosophical and ethical parts of the text at the expense of others that were more geared toward a political sociology of modern politics. Moreover, the adoption of Weber's approach in empirical research was hindered if not foreclosed by a distorted presentation of his key typologies and some central concepts.

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