Tutorial T3: Empirical Principles for LSD Specification

Context:

observe system over a period of time

possibly able to intervene

conceive and construe the behaviour

 

Behaviour conceived by

choosing what to observe

how to observe it

 

Construed by

identifying agency

attributing activity to agents

interpreting effects of action.

 

Can draw on

past experience

legacy of other people's experience

 

Empirical Principles for LSD Specification (2)

 

No one right way: pragmatism

responsible for nothing?

agent always present, mostly as silent onlooker

 

Attribution of change ≠> prediction of change.

 

Assumptions re super-agent

can identify and remember

can recognise that you are acting

can act with intention.

 

Distinguish between

can I brake?

can I stop at a red light?

What are experimental strategies to decide ...

 

1. have I any agency in a system?

 

2. is there an agent present?

 

3. am I the sole agent present?

 

4. is a particular agent present?

 

5. does a particular agent exercise conditional control over a particular observable?

 

6. does a particular observable influence the behaviour of a particular agent?

 

7. is a particular observable constant or subject to variation?

 

8. how many agents are present?