On the connection between agent-based simulation and methodological individualism

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between methodological individualism (MI) and agent-based simulation (ABS). We use a thesis defended by Caterina Marchionni and Petri Ylikoski (2013) as the starting point of our approach. According to this thesis, since MI is often considered to be a reductionist orientation, it is confusing and meaningless to assume that ABS, which is a non-reductionist and emergentist explanatory model, is committed to MI. We criticise this view and focus on the problem of the proper definition of MI. We explain that MI is compatible with the ABS strategy because reductionism is only the most simplistic variant of MI and argue that ABS explanations must be regarded as explanations in terms of non-reductionist MI.