Abstract

Can social theory run like code—one built on the paradoxical distinction between true and false distinctions?

This talk outlines a programme to build a universal social theory machine: a Turing-style architecture that emulates established analogue traditions (from Durkheim and Weber to Parsons and Giddens) and recodes them into digital theory—matrix-based operations over true distinctions (mutually exclusive and jointly exhaustive). The method is not metaphorical digitisation but formal recoding: identify a theory’s guiding distinctions, test their truth conditions, and, where needed, translate false into true distinctions so that classical arguments can run as reproducible programmes. The result is the prospect of a “Supervacuus”: a minimal, distinction-driven engine capable of hosting and comparing theory programmes, much as a universal Turing machine hosts algorithms.

For social theorising, the payoffs are: (i) theoretical transparency in terms models that expose premises and reveal the impact of small changes in guiding distinctions; and (ii) a shift from analogue thematisations of digital phenomena to doing theory digitally, with due modesty about premises and an even-handed treatment of rival programmes in a shared, inspectable language.

This talk takes place as hybrid event. Please register your email address using this link to join online: https://wolfson-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/2XcrgkiZT-SqvoPcAm-nQg#/registration