Questions, methods, projects
Research
Philosophical Foundations of Complex Systems
Complex systems typically exhibit macroscopic patterns arising from interactions among many components. We ask whether, and in what sense, such patterns are emergent relative to the behavior of individual parts; how to address uncertainty when predicting complex behavior in the natural and social sciences; how values and questions of objectivity inform models of socio-ecological systems; and how concepts and methods from physics can be transferred to understand complex behavior in other sciences. We are particularly interested in explaining and predicting critical transitions and tipping points within and beyond physics. Through philosophical analysis of these phenomena, we aim both to improve scientific model-building and to strengthen connections between abstract models and the real world.
ERC Starting Grant project
MACBeh
MACBeh (Model Adaptation in the Study of Critical Behavior) examines how models developed in physics are transferred and adapted for use in other domains, particularly in the study of biological and social systems. It asks what changes in these transfers and under what conditions cross-domain model use can illuminate critical behavior.
Our involvement
The Salzburg Complexity Group's work engages the project's central themes of model adaptation and critical behavior.
Visit MACBeh website ↗
FWF Cluster of Excellence
Knowledge in Crisis
Knowledge in Crisis investigates contemporary crises of knowledge, truth, and expertise. Its research examines what knowledge is, how knowledge claims are justified, whether scientific knowledge has distinctive authority, and how knowledge and expertise function in social and political life. The Cluster connects these questions across epistemology, philosophy of science, ethics, and political and social philosophy.
Our involvement
Patricia Palacios is a Key Researcher whose work examines universality in science. Rawad El Skaf is a Cluster Fellow working on climate science at the science-policy interface.
Visit Knowledge in Crisis website ↗
