Topical Problems of Modeling in the Humanities: Psychoanalytic Reductionism

Abstract

The article deals with the theoretical and methodological status of modeling in social sciences and humanities; theoretical foundations and topical problems of agent-based modeling as the instrument for scientific predictions of contemporary development trends of global or local societies and identifying difficulties that only have to emerge. Along with this, the methodological condition of agent-based modeling in the humanities and social sciences is clarified as a tool for testing hypotheses of the functional relationship between the simulated phenomena of the human world. Justified is the need of reality theory construction, which has to precede the application of modeling and requires conceptual analysis; that is, the phenomenological distinction between the phenomena of experience. An attempt is made to substantiate the interdisciplinary status of modeling and the possibility of using philosophy as a conceptual analysis tool. The main difficulties which raise before philosophy as an instrument of conceptual analysis are outlined. The critique of methodological reductionism is carried out, as exemplified by the psychoanalytic theory, which serves as a criticism of culture and political activism. The theoretical and methodological foundations of psychologistic reductionism in the psychoanalytic theory is analyzed. The impossibility of using the reductionist methodology for the conceptual analysis in terms of modeling is substantiated.