Progrès et « urgence » de la modélisation en sociologie. du concept de « modèle générateur » et de sa mise en œuvre

Abstract

The article proposes a critical analysis of the concept of « model » and of the place that it should hold in sociology. The first part discusses the possibility of, and the interest in conceiving theoretical modelling as a systematic construction of « generating models ». The second part deals with three various types of « models » ( « statistical models », « computational models », and « mathematical models » ), and assesses their respective capacities to implement a « generating model ». In this section, the article devotes a detailed attention to a recent form of « computational modelling » (the multi-agents systems) : the idea put forward is that these « models » constitute the most suitable tool for formalizing and studying « generating models ». By way of conclusion, the article outlines a possible way of integrating the four meanings of the concept of « model » mobilized in order to propose a coherent research framework able to support a « modelling-based sociology ».