Abstract

This work introduces a method of simulating the coevolution of macro-level social institutions and mirco-level symbolic interaction. Intelligent object-oriented agents, each with their own neural network or genetic algorithm, induce what sign they should display and the meaning of signs that they need to read in order to perform pragmatic economic functions of their daily lives. From this displaying and reading of signs, agents come to have shared meanings despite the fact that they don't copy each other and only see from their own contexts. These shared meanings become their own symbol system, enabling them to behave in synchrony. By keeping the principles of Hermaneutics, we explain not only the existence of similar behaviors, but the consonace of different behaviors within a system.
 

Biography

Ms. Duong, a graduate student in the Institute for Computational Sciences and Informatics, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA., has received substantial national recognition for her innovative constructions.