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Is There a Physics of Society? January 10-12, 2008, Santa Fe NM
Organizers: Michelle Girvan (University of Maryland) and Aaron Clauset (Santa Fe Institute)
Saturday, January 12, 2008
3:30 - 4:10 Carter Butts (hompage)
Is There a Viable Social Physics? Yes, No, and In Part
The notion of a "social physics" is quite old, dating back at least to the more or less simultaneous assertion of the term by August Comte and Adolphe Quetelet in the early 19th century. In the almost two hundred years since that time, the social sciences have advanced dramatically; the notion of "social physics," however, is as contentious as ever. Here, I draw a distinction between three ways in which physics can be applied to social phenomena: the direct application of physical models to social systems; the use of shared formalisms to draw on physical models to construct social models; and the study of fundamental physical constraints on social systems. I argue that while the first of these is rarely viable, the second is fruitful in many cases (albeit less trivial than might be hoped). The third is perhaps the least studied of the three, but would seem to be a very promising avenue for further development. I illustrate these ideas with examples from the current social science literature, particularly the use of statistical mechanical models for settlement patterns, social stratification, and social networks.
