Simulating with cognitive agents: the importance of cognitive emergence

摘要

When the micro-units of emerging dynamic processes are cognitive agents, a very important and unique phenomenon arises, called Cognitive Emergence (CE). We argue that: CE characterises the theory of Sociological dynamics with respect to other forms of emergence at different level of organisation (ex. physics, biology, etc.); CE has a very strong influence on the process of emergence, changing it, and should be taken into account in simulating and modelling social phenomena; certain important emerging social phenomena, like social norms cannot be explained at all without CE; CE has critical consequences on the process of "immergence" i.e. the process through which the macro-level emerging structure or global result 'feedbacks' into the micro-level re-shaping the "elementary" behaviours. We examine the case of dependence relationships.