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Philosophy and Simulation: The Emergence of Synthetic Reason
In this groundbreaking new book, Manuel Delanda analyzes all the different genres of simulation (from cellular automata and genetic algorithms to neural nets and multi-agent systems) as a means to conceptualize the possibility spaces associated with causal (and other) capacities. Simulations allow us to stage actual interactions among a population of agents and to observe the emergent wholes that result from those interactions. Simulations have become as important as mathematical models in theoretical science. As computer power and memory have become cheaper they have migrated to the desktop, where they now play the role that small-scale experiments used to play. A philosophical examination of the epistemology of simulations is needed to cement this new role, underlining the consequences that simulations may have for materialist philosophy itself. This remarkably clear philosophical discussion of a rapidly growing field, from a thinker at the forefront of research at the interface of science and the humanities, is a must-read for anyone interested in the philosophy of technology and the philosophy of science at all levels.
226 pages, Hardcover
First published June 18, 2002
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648 people want to read
About the author
Manuel DeLanda
30 books177 followersManuel DeLanda (b. in Mexico City, 1952), based in New York since 1975, is a philosopher, media artist, programmer and software designer. After studying art in the 1970s, he became known as an independent filmmaker making underground 8mm and 16mm films inspired by critical theory and philosophy. In the 1980s, Manuel De Landa focused on programing, writing computer software, and computer art. After being introduced to the work of Gilles Deleuze, he saw new creative potential in philosophical texts, becoming one of the representatives of the 'new materialism'.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 28, 2017
How do things come to be the sorts of things they are? What sort of processes engender, sustain, and decompose the rich furniture of the world amongst which we find ourselves? These are the questions that from the very beginning, have animated Manuel DeLanda’s quest to understand the nature of things. In Philosophy and Simulation, DeLanda extends his inquiries into the fascinating and unsung world of scientific modelling, documenting the myriad of creative ways in which science has attempted to capture the dynamism of the universe in order to teach us more about it. From the micro to the macro, vortexes in the laboratory to the formation of nation-states, DeLanda’s polymathic intelligence is relentlessly probing in both scope and scale, making for an adventure of reading quite unlike any other.
That all said, this isn’t quite your typical work of popular science, if indeed it could be called that at all. While pretty much avoiding any reference to the math behind it all, DeLanda writes at a level barely one step removed from invoking it, which is to say that the writing here is both concise and complex, if nonetheless ultimately accessible to the motivated layman. Indeed, as the title gives away, and as anyone who has followed DeLanda’s intellectual trajectory to date would know, Philosophy and Simulation is unquestionably a book of - what else? - philosophy. As such, while the work remains entirely able to stand on its own merits, its true brilliance lies in the way serves to flesh out the Deleuzian inspired ontology that DeLanda has been developing across his works for a while now.
What then, of this ontology? Well, following the contours of DeLanda’s naturalised, scientifically informed Deleuze (who here barely rates a mention save for the appendix), things come to be as they through a dual process involving both (1) ‘mechanisms of emergence’ on the one hand, and (2) 'mechanism-independent' components on the other. While each chapter here more or less explains and demonstrates how a particular ‘mechanism of emergence’ functions (be it that of the learning capacity of animals, or the formation of life out of the ‘prebiotic soup’), the true virtue of simulation, for DeLanda, lies in its ability to illuminate the functioning of the second prong of individuation: mechanism-independent singularities which structure the space of possibilities by which things come to be.
That last sentence will no doubt be a bit of a garble to anyone unversed in the systems science lingo employed by DeLanda, but the basic idea is that these mechanism independent components serve to explain how it is that different systems, composed of vastly different material components (in this case, 'natural' systems and artificially simulated ones), can nonetheless manifest very similar, if not identical behaviour. It’s only by admitting the reality of these mechanism-independent structures that we can explain, in other words, the ‘unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics’. Thus it is that the real protagonists of Philosophy and Simulation are modelling systems like genetic algorithms, neural nets and artificial chemistries, all of which are detailed by DeLanda in exquisite fashion.
Like much of DeLanda’s works, detail adorns the pages here in abundance, with DeLanda parsing the nitty gritty of his subject matter in a manner both exhausting and captivating. So much so in fact, that it’s easy to lose sight of larger picture while grappling with the flood of information discharged herein. DeLanda also has a tendency to 'argue by illustration’, as it were, letting his scientific vignettes do the philosophical work for him, while leaving some of the finer points of argument unilluminated. For instance, despite all the work of exemplification, the central concept of the book, emergence, felt surprisingly under-developed at the conceptual level. Still, whatever one makes of DeLanda’s carefully constructed worldview, Philosophy and Simulation remains a profoundly impressive work of scientifically literate philosophy.
That all said, this isn’t quite your typical work of popular science, if indeed it could be called that at all. While pretty much avoiding any reference to the math behind it all, DeLanda writes at a level barely one step removed from invoking it, which is to say that the writing here is both concise and complex, if nonetheless ultimately accessible to the motivated layman. Indeed, as the title gives away, and as anyone who has followed DeLanda’s intellectual trajectory to date would know, Philosophy and Simulation is unquestionably a book of - what else? - philosophy. As such, while the work remains entirely able to stand on its own merits, its true brilliance lies in the way serves to flesh out the Deleuzian inspired ontology that DeLanda has been developing across his works for a while now.
What then, of this ontology? Well, following the contours of DeLanda’s naturalised, scientifically informed Deleuze (who here barely rates a mention save for the appendix), things come to be as they through a dual process involving both (1) ‘mechanisms of emergence’ on the one hand, and (2) 'mechanism-independent' components on the other. While each chapter here more or less explains and demonstrates how a particular ‘mechanism of emergence’ functions (be it that of the learning capacity of animals, or the formation of life out of the ‘prebiotic soup’), the true virtue of simulation, for DeLanda, lies in its ability to illuminate the functioning of the second prong of individuation: mechanism-independent singularities which structure the space of possibilities by which things come to be.
That last sentence will no doubt be a bit of a garble to anyone unversed in the systems science lingo employed by DeLanda, but the basic idea is that these mechanism independent components serve to explain how it is that different systems, composed of vastly different material components (in this case, 'natural' systems and artificially simulated ones), can nonetheless manifest very similar, if not identical behaviour. It’s only by admitting the reality of these mechanism-independent structures that we can explain, in other words, the ‘unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics’. Thus it is that the real protagonists of Philosophy and Simulation are modelling systems like genetic algorithms, neural nets and artificial chemistries, all of which are detailed by DeLanda in exquisite fashion.
Like much of DeLanda’s works, detail adorns the pages here in abundance, with DeLanda parsing the nitty gritty of his subject matter in a manner both exhausting and captivating. So much so in fact, that it’s easy to lose sight of larger picture while grappling with the flood of information discharged herein. DeLanda also has a tendency to 'argue by illustration’, as it were, letting his scientific vignettes do the philosophical work for him, while leaving some of the finer points of argument unilluminated. For instance, despite all the work of exemplification, the central concept of the book, emergence, felt surprisingly under-developed at the conceptual level. Still, whatever one makes of DeLanda’s carefully constructed worldview, Philosophy and Simulation remains a profoundly impressive work of scientifically literate philosophy.
August 5, 2011
Mixed feelings on this book. It is a goldmine for its quick, readable introductions to various simulations and how they can generate "emergent behavior". This is fascinating stuff.
That said, I was a bit disappointed at how little philosophy there seemed to be. I was looking for a bit more exploration of the kinds of far-reaching implications these sorts of experiments might have for how we view the things, whether it be the mind or social structures or the development of language or whatever.
Still, I'm very glad I read it, and view it as a good introduction that will smooth the way for me to explore further.
That said, I was a bit disappointed at how little philosophy there seemed to be. I was looking for a bit more exploration of the kinds of far-reaching implications these sorts of experiments might have for how we view the things, whether it be the mind or social structures or the development of language or whatever.
Still, I'm very glad I read it, and view it as a good introduction that will smooth the way for me to explore further.
September 4, 2011
This book is an introduction (I assume) to DeLanda's philosophy, which focuses on emergent properties and how they can emerge from combinations of simpler components with simple properties. A central idea is the ability to use computer simulation to test and verify philosophical hypotheses. To that end, DeLanda describes simulations of a wide variety of topics - everything from the "prebiotic soup" to multicellular life, insects and human societies with economics and hierarchies. Even though this book is easy to read, it is densely packed with information but always avoid getting lost in technical detail, a feat in itself.
February 7, 2013
i am generally a foreigner to philosophy and quite skeptical
however this book was quite amazing - it does a case study of cell behavior and thunderstorms and other emergent systems.
really great read from a scientific / systems / engineering / modeling perspective... anyone doing any sort of systems design should read it. very clear and englightening concept of emergence.
neat to see how mankind struggles with - neat to compare this book to, say, alexander's 'notes on the synthesis of form' and his 'generative grammar' - and note how far we've come in 50 years with 'systems design'
however this book was quite amazing - it does a case study of cell behavior and thunderstorms and other emergent systems.
really great read from a scientific / systems / engineering / modeling perspective... anyone doing any sort of systems design should read it. very clear and englightening concept of emergence.
neat to see how mankind struggles with - neat to compare this book to, say, alexander's 'notes on the synthesis of form' and his 'generative grammar' - and note how far we've come in 50 years with 'systems design'
January 7, 2013
It's more useful to read the appendix together with the individual chapters. DeLanda has a gift for taking abstract Deleuzian concepts and explaining them in a very palatable, empirical way. Two key ideas discussed in this work are the concept of the gradient, where different entities affect one another via deterritorialisation and its dissipation, which refers to the formation of boundaries (i.e. territorialisation). These boundaries, it should be noted, are partial and not immutable, since they are constituted by the capacities and tendencies within the assemblage. Hence, even as a new substance emerges from the interaction between two different entities, the former remains constrained by the presence of visible and non-visible properties.
December 22, 2011
DeLanda is one of the true pioneers in thinking about emergence in philosophy.
February 28, 2015
Another important contribution to the effort to ground philosophy in the latest scientific understanding and to find a new way of thinking.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews