scholarly journals The Dialectic of Bottom-up and Top-down Emergence in Social Systems

1970 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Fuchs ◽  
Wolfgang Hofkirchner
Keyword(s):  
Systems Theory ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Hierarchical Systems ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Determinism And Indeterminism ◽  
Point Of Departure

In this paper we will present a theoretical explanation of the relationship between so-called individual emergence and the emergence of social systems. We want to take as our point of departure the assumption that from the perspective of hierarchical systems theory self-organization on the level of social systems includes a bottom-up process as well as a top-down process. The bottom-up process refers to what in sociology is called agency, the top-down process refers to what is called structure. We will show that it is convenient to suggest that these processes be linked in a dialectical manner. In this respect we will discuss problems of determinism and indeterminism. This is the background against which we will try to clarify the notion of individual emergence. Our rather general considerations will be illustrated by how ideology, that is consciousness in a collective as well as an individual sense, is conceived of by a number of theories and how it should be conceived of when aspects of self-organization are included. We will conclude with a statement that makes clear why consciousness is a property of individuals that emerges only when individuals participate in society and why society emerges only when individuals are endowed with consciousness.

scholarly journals The Dialectic of Bottom-up and Top-down Emergence in Social Systems

1970 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-50
Author(s):  
Christian Fuchs ◽  
Wolfgang Hofkirchner
Keyword(s):  
Systems Theory ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Hierarchical Systems ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Determinism And Indeterminism ◽  
Point Of Departure

In this paper we will present a theoretical explanation of the relationship between so-called individual emergence and the emergence of social systems. We want to take as our point of departure the assumption that from the perspective of hierarchical systems theory self-organization on the level of social systems includes a bottom-up process as well as a top-down process. The bottom-up process refers to what in sociology is called agency, the top-down process refers to what is called structure. We will show that it is convenient to suggest that these processes be linked in a dialectical manner. In this respect we will discuss problems of determinism and indeterminism. This is the background against which we will try to clarify the notion of individual emergence. Our rather general considerations will be illustrated by how ideology, that is consciousness in a collective as well as an individual sense, is conceived of by a number of theories and how it should be conceived of when aspects of self-organization are included. We will conclude with a statement that makes clear why consciousness is a property of individuals that emerges only when individuals participate in society and why society emerges only when individuals are endowed with consciousness.

“Top-Down” or “Bottom-Up”

1998 ◽  
pp. 61-68
Author(s):  
Francisco Flores
Keyword(s):  
Physical Theory ◽  
Scientific Explanation ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Physical Laws ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Principle Theory

Wesley Salmon has suggested that the two leading views of scientific explanation, the “bottom-up” view and the “top-down” view, describe distinct types of explanation. In this paper, I focus on theoretical explanations in physics, i.e., explanations of physical laws. Using explanations of E=mc2, I argue that the distinction between bottom-up explanations (BUEs) and top-down explanations (BUEs) is best understood as a manifestation of a deeper distinction, found originally in Newton’s work, between two levels of theory. I use Einstein’s distinction between ‘principle’ and ‘constructive’ theories to argue that only lower level theories, i.e., ‘constructive’ theories, can yield BUEs. These explanations, furthermore, depend on higher level laws that receive only TDEs from a ‘principle’ theory. Thus, I conclude that Salmon’s challenge to characterize the relationship between the two types of explanation can be met only by recognizing the close relationship between types of theoretical explanation and the structure of physical theory.

scholarly journals Making a House a Home: Motivations for Earthquake Strengthening   Domestic Homes in Dunedin, an Argument Towards Domestic Heritage

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Imogen Stockwell
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Conservation Practice ◽  
Heritage Studies ◽  
Heritage Buildings ◽  
Southern City ◽  
The Relationship

<p>Following the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes, earthquake strengthening is one of the biggest issues facing heritage buildings in New Zealand. This process is mainly affecting commercial and public buildings; residential buildings are generally exempt from earthquake-prone building policies. However, some homeowners are choosing to do what is often perceived to be an expensive and time-consuming process. This research explores whether there is a heritage relationship between the homeowner and their house that motivates conservation work, such as earthquake strengthening. The central question for this research is: “What makes a heritage house a home? Is “home” a motivation for owners to earthquake strengthen their building? a case study of Dunedin”.  The relationship between homeowners and the heritage of their homes and domestic conservations practices has been underexamined in heritage studies in New Zealand. The current dissertation addresses this problem and contributes to the literature of Museum and Heritage Studies. The theoretical framework employed in this research draws on the field of Critical Heritage Studies in order to explore the relationship between ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up heritage’, the notion of ‘peoples-based’ heritage, the value of intangible heritage and a cycle of care. This research utilised qualitative research methods, involving the interviewing three heritage homeowners and two heritage professionals. These provided detailed findings about homeowners’ perceptions of their houses and the interaction between heritage practitioners and homeowners. The southern city of Dunedin was the case study which framed this research, because it has a rich collection of heritage buildings and a council which has been proactive in encouraging earthquake strengthening.  It was found that the heritage homeowner’s relationship with their home played a role in conservation how decisions are undertaken and that there is a lack of outreach from heritage authorities to heritage homeowners. This research provides information about the nature of the interaction between top-down and bottom-up heritage, and how this relationship can lead to positive heritage outcomes. Recommendations include developing open channels of communication between officials and homeowners, increased acknowledgement of the homeowner’s role in the conservation practice, and the establishment of a concept of Domestic Heritage to assist within the development of a cycle of care by heritage homeowners.</p>

Wired for Warmth

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 17-28
Author(s):  
Alan E. Singer
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Behavior ◽  
The Other ◽  
Computer Engineering ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Moral Consciousness ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
The Real ◽  
Moral Agents ◽  
Artificial Moral Agents ◽  
The Relationship

An aspect of the relationship between philosophy and computer engineering is considered, with particular emphasis upon the design of artificial moral agents. Top-down vs. bottom-up approaches to ethical behavior are discussed, followed by an overview of some of the ways in which traditional ethics has informed robotics. Two macro-trends are then identified, one involving the evolution of moral consciousness in man and machine, the other involving the fading away of the boundary between the real and the virtual.

Systemtheorie und Handlungstheorie – Bemerkungen zum Verhältnis von Aggregation und Emergenz / System-theory and action-theory – Comments on the relationship of aggregation and emergent properties

1978 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut Willke
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Action Theory ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Specific Question ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Action Units ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Point Of Departure

AbstractThe goal of this article is not to answer a specific question but to analyse some ways to ask questions in relation to highly complex systems. The point of departure is a controversy between PARSONS and LUHMANN about the relationship between parts and wholes, between action units and systems. In the first part (I and II) the positions are presented to point out the problem: can we analyse complex social systems within the frame of action theory on the basis of action units and the functional preconditions of coordinating contingent interactions; or do the emergent properties of complex systems call for a subordination of action theory under the concept of processual prerequisites of system guidance?The second part (II and III) deals with a possibility to revise LUHMANN’s program of an “analysis of complexity” (a program which also is increasingly important for the analysis of complex physical, chemical or biological systems). The classificatorial constraints of LUHMANN’s program are discussed under the perspective of a more adequate theory of generalized media of system guidance.

scholarly journals Vision and Touch: Multiple or Multisensory Representations of Objects?

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p5850 ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 1513-1521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Lacey ◽  
Christine Campbell ◽  
K Sathian
Keyword(s):  
Mental Representation ◽  
Visual Imagery ◽  
Multisensory Processing ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Weight Of Evidence ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Multisensory Representation ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between visually and haptically derived representations of objects is an important question in multisensory processing and, increasingly, in mental representation. We review evidence for the format and properties of these representations, and address possible theoretical models. We explore the relevance of visual imagery processes and highlight areas for further research, including the neglected question of asymmetric performance in the visuo – haptic cross-modal memory paradigm. We conclude that the weight of evidence suggests the existence of a multisensory representation, spatial in format, and flexibly accessible by both bottom — up and top — down inputs, although efficient comparison between modality-specific representations cannot entirely be ruled out.

scholarly journals The Relationship between Human Well-Being and Carbon Emissions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 547
Author(s):  
Qin Li ◽  
Hongmin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Emissions ◽  
Energy Use ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
The Relationship

Governments around the world are actively exploring strategies to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. In addition to technological progress, promoting a transformation of residents’ behaviors to a low carbon mode is also a solution. Many people are concerned about how to reduce carbon emissions while ensuring human well-being. Starting from the comparative analysis of two main theories of human well-being, this paper sorted out existing well-being measurement methods from the perspectives of “top-down” and “bottom-up” and further sorted out research on the relationship between human well-being and energy carbon emissions. While “top-down” research is conducive to the layout of macro policies, “bottom-up” research can better help to promote the transformation of society to a low carbon life by estimating the energy consumption and carbon emissions contained in human needs. Current research discusses human well-being, human needs, energy use and carbon emissions, respectively, but they are not systematically integrated. Furthermore, this paper proposes a framework combining these aspects to analyze the relationship between human well-being and carbon emissions. In addition, this paper suggests future research directions.

scholarly journals Response to Nadia Stoyanova Kennedy & David Kennedy. Communicative Competencies and the Structuration of Expectations: the Creative Tension between Habermas’ Critical Theory and Luhmann’s Social Systems Theory

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Loet Leydesdorff
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Systems Theory ◽  
Communicative Action ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Social Systems Theory ◽  
Theory Of Communicative Action ◽  
Creative Tension ◽  
Special Case

  I elaborate on the tension between Luhmann’s social systems theory and Habermas’ theory of communicative action, and argue that this tension can be resolved by focusing on language as the interhuman medium of the communication which enables us to develop symbolically generalized media of communication such as truth, love, power, etc. Following Luhmann, the layers of self-organization among the differently codified subsystems of communication versus organization of meaning at contingent interfaces can analytically be distinguished as compatible, yet empirically researchable alternatives to Habermas’ distinction between “system” and “lifeworld.” Mediation by a facilitator can then be considered as a special case of organizing historically contingent translations among the evolutionarily developing fluxes of intentions and expectations. Accordingly, I suggest modifying Giddens’ terminology into “a theory of the structuration of expectations.”

scholarly journals Reflections on the Complexity of Ancient Social Heterarchies: Toward New Models of Social Self-Organization in Pre-Hispanic Colombia

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Mezza-Garcia ◽  
Tom Froese ◽  
Nelson Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Social Self ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Rule Based ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Controlled Systems

All political systems have limitations in their information processing and action capacities to face large-scale crises and challenges, but especially if they happen to be too hierarchically and centrally controlled systems. In contrast, some other cultures whose political structure is heterarchically organized, such as the Zenú, the Muiscas, and the Tayronas in pre-Hispanic Colombia, presented adaptiveness even without advanced scientific knowledge and without powerful centralized top-down control. We therefore propose that creating and analyzing computer models of their decentralized processes of management could provide a broader perspective on the possibilities of self-organized political systems. Our hope is that this approach will eventually go beyond the scope of basic science. It seeks to promote more computer-model-based research of social systems that exhibit an adaptive balance of flexibility and robustness, i.e., systems that do not rely on the current ideal of rule-based control of all systemic aspects, with the practical aim of improving current social and political processes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document