Qualitative Reasoning beyond the Physics Domain: The Density Dependence Theory of Organizational Ecology∗

Qualitative reasoning is traditionally associated with the domain of physics, although the domain of application is, in fact, much broader. This paper investigates the application of qualitative reasoning beyond the domain of physics. It presents a case study of application in the social sciences: the density dependence theory of organizational ecology. It discusses how the different nature of soft science domains will complicate the process of model building. Furthermore, it shows that the “model building” process can also help making theoretically important decisions, and, as a result, have an impact on the original theory. This will require a shift in focus from the “model simulation” process towards the “model building” process.