In Aggregation & Dynamics, the Entities row specifies the basic objects that constitute the system-level universe. At this scale, individuals and their strategic relations dissolve into aggregates, state variables, structural parameters, and system-wide mechanisms that govern dynamic evolution. The ontology shifts from agents to macro-structures.
This section fixes the allowed building blocks of system-level explanation: aggregate variables, distributions, stocks and flows, structural constraints, propagation channels, and laws of motion. These entities determine how shocks spread, how the system transitions between states, and how long-run trajectories unfold. Anything that requires explicit individual decision-making or inter-agent influence does not belong here.
Entities here define what the world is made of when the system itself—not its constituent agents—is the object of analysis.
Science Analysis Template
These are the structural patterns found across all Scientific Disciplines
1. Aggregation & Dynamics selects a small set of primitive objects that define its world.
The ontology of Aggregation & Dynamics consists of the minimal primitives needed to describe the behavior of an entire system, not its individual components.
These primitives include:
- macro-state variables (stocks, flows, aggregates, rates),
- structural parameters (technological, demographic, institutional constraints),
- distributions (of resources, outcomes, or characteristics),
- propagation mechanisms (how disturbances travel through the system),
- laws of motion (mapping current states into future states),
- system boundaries (defining what is inside or outside the evolving whole).
These are the “atoms” of system-level explanation.
Individual agents are not entities here; their actions are absorbed into aggregates or structural relationships.
2. Aggregation’s entity-set is mutually exclusive from those of Choice and Interaction, while mutually supporting within itself.
Aggregation explicitly does not assume:
- distinct individual agents with decision autonomy (Choice),
- strategic relationships, influence patterns, or institutional rules among agents (Interaction),
- psychological subsystems, neural mechanisms, or cognitive structures.
Instead, its ontology is self-supporting:
- macro-state variables influence one another through structural equations;
- distributions shape system behavior;
- propagation channels transmit shocks;
- laws of motion govern dynamic evolution.
Every entity in Aggregation exists at the system scale, and none depends on micro-level agency.
This exclusivity prevents the domain from collapsing into either microeconomics or game-theoretic interaction.
3. Aggregation’s ontology determines the correct level of explanation.
Because Aggregation treats the system itself as the fundamental object, it implicitly sets:
- what can interact: state variables, constraints, and propagation channels;
- what processes are meaningful: adjustment dynamics, shock transmission, structural transitions, long-run evolution;
- what can be measured or modeled: aggregates, distributions, flows, equilibria, trajectories;
- what kinds of laws apply: dynamic equations, stability conditions, feedback rules;
- what counts as a cause: system structure, aggregate shifts, propagation mechanisms;
- what cannot be reduced further: the macro-state variables that define the system’s configuration.
These criteria exclude explanations framed in terms of:
- individual decision rules (Choice),
- cross-agent influence or equilibrium among strategic actors (Interaction).
The entity list filters which explanations are valid for system-level phenomena.
4. Composite entities build upward in Aggregation, but only through system-level rules.
Aggregation allows composite objects, but only if they arise from systemic composition rules, such as:
- aggregate demand or supply,
- population distributions,
- sector-level aggregates,
- multi-variable dynamic systems,
- equilibrium paths and transition functions,
- composite structural relationships.
But Aggregation does not permit composite entities that rely on:
- individual strategic structure (Interaction),
- single-agent optimization (Choice),
- detailed micro-level behavior or psychological mechanisms.
All composites must be reducible to macro-state variables, structural parameters, and laws of motion, not to agents.
5. Interdisciplinary fields expose joints between Aggregation and its neighbors.
Hybrid fields arise at the boundaries where entity sets intersect:
- Aggregation ↔ Interaction:
when strategic interaction among many agents shapes an aggregate outcome (e.g., search-and-matching, network spillovers, congestion). - Aggregation ↔ Choice:
when aggregates are derived from micro-foundations but the analysis treats the aggregate as an autonomous entity. - Aggregation ↔ Statistics / Data Science:
where distributions, filters, time-series operators, and aggregators become objects of study. - Aggregation ↔ Systems Science / Ecology:
where population-level dynamics, stability, and propagation laws share structural similarities.
These hybrids function only because each domain’s ontology is clearly defined; the boundary interface allows translation without collapse.
6. Aggregation admits formal entities only as abstract structures tied to system behavior.
Aggregation relies heavily on abstract objects such as:
- dynamic operators,
- difference/differential equations,
- transition matrices,
- state-space forms,
- filters and aggregators,
- structural functional forms.
These are not physical or social entities; they are formal representations of system dynamics.
Their meaning depends on the assumption that:
- the system is the unit of analysis,
- individuals are not entities,
- strategic interactions are not entities,
- the ontology is macro-structural.
If the domain shifts downward or upward in scale, these constructs must be reinterpreted or replaced.
7. The resulting ontology of Aggregation & Dynamics is non-overlapping, structurally precise, and cleanly bounded.
With its entity set defined, Aggregation becomes an ontologically distinct field:
- It contains only system-level objects.
- It excludes individual agents and their decision logic.
- It excludes relational influence and strategic interdependence.
- It excludes psychological or biological mechanisms.
- It allows only system-level causes and system-level explanations.
All downstream reasoning—equilibrium paths, stability properties, dynamic predictions—must be reducible to macro-state variables, structural constraints, and the laws governing their evolution.
Aggregation & Dynamics stands as the uppermost ontological tier of social science, cleanly separated from the decision-theoretic (Choice) and strategic (Interaction) worlds below it.
