The Final Volume of the Groundbreaking Trilogy on Agent-Based ModelingIn
this pioneering synthesis, Joshua Epstein introduces a new theoretical
entity: Agent_Zero. This software individual, or "agent," is endowed
with distinct emotional/affective, cognitive/deliberative, and social
modules. Grounded in contemporary neuroscience, these internal
components interact to generate observed, often far-from-rational,
individual behavior. When multiple agents of this new type move and
interact spatially, they collectively generate an astonishing range of
dynamics spanning the fields of social conflict, psychology, public
health, law, network science, and economics.Epstein weaves a
computational tapestry with threads from Plato, Hume, Darwin, Pavlov,
Smith, Tolstoy, Marx, James, and Dostoevsky, among others. This
transformative synthesis of social philosophy, cognitive neuroscience,
and agent-based modeling will fascinate scholars and students of every
stripe. Epstein's computer programs
are provided in the book or on its Princeton University Press website,
along with movies of his "computational parables."Agent_Zero is a signal
departure in what it includes (e.g., a new synthesis of neurally
grounded internal modules), what it eschews (e.g., standard behavioral
imitation), the phenomena it generates (from genocide to financial
panic), and the modeling arsenal it offers the scientific community. For
generative social science, Agent_Zero presents a groundbreaking vision
and the tools to realize it.
