Polar Hermeneutics: A Multi-faceted Decision Mechanism

ocial simulation inherently involves social actors, at various levels, that make a wide range of decisions. However, the decision mechanisms used by most research programs have often been intuitive, ad hoc and/or overly simplistic. In contrast, in all cultures and times, diverse social actors are required to make decisions in complex circumstances. For simulative decision mechanisms to be credible, the complex nature of social processes needs to be recognized and represented. In order to create a more credible architecture for social simulation, the present paper introduces a rich, expressive decision process based upon a composite mechanism: polar hermeneutics