Steven Peck (Brigham Young University)
I begin this paper with a look at the general background behind the way ecologists create and use theories, and then I assess how agent-based models (ABMs) address problems in theory construction and testing. I use three of my models to illustrate (a) how models can be constructed from established theory, and be used to expand theories into more complex situations; (b) how established theories can be combined using ABMs to create more elaborate and complex theories; and (c) how ABMs can create novel theories that spur advances in research programs by examining the world in more creative ways. I will focus on this last use of ABM models, novel theory generation, to suggest ways that model adequacy can be assessed without recourse to specific target systems by looking at the use of ABMs as instantiations of digital ecologies from which meaningful inferences about real ecologies can be constructed. I will argue that insights from hermeneutic theory and the philosophy of computer game construction, might be usefully incorporated into ABM modeling. I conclude with several problems that need more scrutiny if such models are to be more widely accepted within the general scientific community.
