The Explanatory Significance of Equilibrium

Skyrms教授的研究重点是评估 平衡概念在生物学和 决策科学 平衡的意义取决于 存在潜在的动力学。 进化与生态 动力学与生物学有关。 各种适应性 和学习动力学与决策科学有关。 但当 动力学是明确建模，新的问题出现，可能 对均衡的解释意义提出了质疑。 我们 人们首先会问：“如何达到均衡？“也许 动力学不会导致平衡，而是表现出 周期性、准周期性或混沌行为。 即使 平衡仍然很重要，最合理的动态可能导致 平衡概念的修正。 这些考虑 让Skyrms教授重新思考 均衡的解释意义。

Professor Skyrms is focussing his research on evaluating the explanatory significance of equilibrium concepts in biological and decision sciences. The significance of equilibrium depends on there being underlying dynamics. Evolutionary and ecological dynamics are relevant in biology. Various kinds of adaptational and learning dynamics are relevant in decision sciences. But when the dynamics is explicitly modeled, new questions arise which may call into question the explanatory significance of equilibrium. We are first led to ask: "how is equilibrium reached?" Perhaps the dynamics does not lead to an equilibrium, but rather exhibits periodic, quasi-periodic, or chaotic behavior. And even if equilibrium remains important, the most plausible dynamics may lead to a revision of the equilibrium concept. These considerations have led Professor Skyrms to rethink the question of the explanatory significance of equilibrium.