Causality in social theory via linguistic fuzzy logic

Badredine Arfi ()

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2013, vol. 47, issue 2, 853-880

Abstract: I present a new approach to the study of causality in social theory using linguistic fuzzy logic as a framework. This approach differs from conventional analysis of causality on two fronts. First, all variables are considered to possess two degrees of freedom (or variation): a linguistic nuance value, which corresponds to what we conventionally refer to as interval or categorical value, and a linguistic truth value, which measures our confidence level in this nuance value. Second, combining this double fuzzification of variables with linguistic fuzzy logic I propose new tools for studying fuzzy causality. The linguistic fuzzy logic approach is illustrated through a re-examination of Skocpol’s ( 1979 , States and social revolutions: a comparative analysis of France, Russia, and China. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge) theory of social revolution. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2013

Keywords: Fuzzy logic; Linguistic; Causality; Social science; Revolution; Skocpol (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1007/s11135-011-9570-6

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