Why Do Simulation? Towards a Working Epistemology for Practitioners of the Dark Arts

The purpose of this paper is to argue for clarity of methodology in social science simulation. Simulation is now at a stage in the social sciences where it is important to be clear why simulation should be used and what it is intended to achieve. The paper goes on to discuss a particularly important source of opposition to simulation in the social sciences which arises from perceived threats to the orthodox hard-core. This is illustrated by way of a couple of case studies. The paper then goes on to discuss defences to standard criticisms of simulation and the various positive reasons for using simulation in preference to other methods of theorising in particular situations.