‘Demi-regs’, probabilism and partly closed systems

Datos Bibliográficos

ID21159934
AutoresPetter Næ (0000-0001-8571-8326, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, autor de correspondencia)
Año2019
Volumen18
Número5
Páginas475-486
Fecha de publicación2019-10-20
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Critical Realism (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1476-7430 • E-ISSN: 1572-5138
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14767430.2019.1644951
OpenAlexW2966696771
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas18

In response to an article by Steve Fleetwood on the critical realist conception of open and closed system, this paper argues that we should differentiate non-closed systems according to their degree of openness or closure, rather than applying a dichotomy between closed and open system. Societies should be conceptualized in terms of partly closed (or partly open) systems, in addition to any fully open systems that might exist in the social world. The paper furthermore argues that demi-regularities represent probability distributions existing in the real world, as distinct from occurring merely in some epistemic domain. Such partial regularities at one level of the stratified reality are necessary for the emergence of new structures at a higher stratum, for example, the social structures of a given society. Finally, implications for social science research of accepting vs. rejecting the existence of probabilities and partly closed systems in the social world are discussed

Economics · Epistemology · Mathematical economics · Open society · Openness to experience · Physics · Political science · Positive economics · Social science · Social system · Sociology · Computer Science · Critical Realism in Sociology · Economic Theory and Institutions · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology