In existographies, Frank Schweitzer (c.1955-) is a German theoretical physicist, philosopher, and sociophysicist, noted for []
Overview
In 2002, Schweitzer co-organized, with and Klaus Troitzsche, the ZiF Sociophysics Conference, which included talks by: Jurgen Mimkes, Wolfgang Weidlich, Dietrich Stauffer, and Gunter Haag.
In 2003, Schweitzer, in his Brownian Agents and Active Particles: Collective Dynamics in the Natural and Social Sciences, discussed social movement in terms of Brownian motion theory, e.g. in the form of active Brownian agent theory. [1]
In 2018, Schweitzer, in his “Sociophysics” article, cited a number of thinkers, including: David Hume, Auguste Comte, Adolphe Quetelet, and mentions how someone [?] in the 1940s was using social lattice theory [see: Beg (1987)], and ends with a plea to get a sociophysics journal started and to have tenured professors of sociophysics in universities [See: Nightingale Chair of Social Physics]. [2]
Influences
Schweitzer has been influenced by Goethe and his metamorphology theory. [4]
Education
In 1981, Schweitzer, age 26, completed his PhD with a dissertation on “Soil mechanical properties of African laterites in their parameters and relationships” (Ѻ), and in 1984, age 29, completed a second PhD in the philosophy of science; presently, he is chair of the department of systems design at ETH Zurch.
Quotes | Employed
The following are quotes employed by Schweitzer:
“Economics is harder than physics; luckily it is not quite as hard as sociology.”
— Paul Krugman (1994), Peddling Prosperity; cited by Schweitzer (2119) in “Sociophysics” [3]
Quotes | By
The following are quotes by Schweitzer:
“SocioPhysics has become an attractive field of research over the past years, despite some controversies about its scientific eligibility and potential use for the understanding of social phenomena. This international conference tends to reflect these discussions: It brings together scientists from various disciplines, such as physics, sociology, informatics, demography, philosophy, political sciences, economics. They will jointly discuss whether and to what extent physical models and tools can be reasonably used to enhance quantitative methods and computer simulations in the social sciences. Ideally, this interdisciplinary dialog will result in a mutual enhancement: Social scientists may learn about the latest development in applying physical methods to the life and social sciences, physicists and other natural scientists may increase their awareness of problems, methods, and needs in the social sciences.”
— Frank Schweitzer (2002), “Aim and Scope” of SocioPhysics Conference [1]
References
1. Schweitzer, Frank and Troitzsche, Klaus. (2002). ZiF SocioPhysics Conference (abs) (toc) (pdf), Center for Interdisciplinary Research (Zentrum fiir interdisziplinare Forschung) (ZIF), Bielefeld Germany, Jun 6-9.
2. Schweltzer, Frank. (2018). “Sociophysics: To the extent that individuals interact with each other in prescribed ways, their collective social behavior can be modeled and analyzed”, Physics Today, 72(2):40.
3. (a) Krugman, Paul. (1994). Peddling Prosperity: Economic Sense and Nonsense in the Age of Diminishing Expectations. Norton.
(b) Schweltzer, Frank. (2018). “Sociophysics: To the extent that individuals interact with each other in prescribed ways, their collective social behavior can be modeled and analyzed”, Physics Today, 72(2):40.
4. Frank Schweitzer (personal webpage) (German → English) – SG.ETHZ.ch.
Further reading
● Schweitzer, Frank. (1997). “Active Brownian Particles: Artificial Agents in Physics”, in Stochastic Dynamics, Lecture Notes in Physics (editors: Lutz Schimansky-Geier and T. Poschel) (pgs. 358-71), Volume 484. Springer.
● Schweitzer, Frank; Ulbricht, Heinz; Schmelzer, Jurn; Mahnke, Reinhard. (1988). Thermodynamics of Finite Systems: and the Kinetics of First-Order Phase Transitions (abs). Teubner.
● Schweitzer, Frank. (2003). Brownian Agents and Active Particles: Collective Dynamics in the Natural and Social Sciences. Springer.
● Schweltzer, Frank. (2018). “Sociophysics: To the extent that individuals interact with each other in prescribed ways, their collective social behavior can be modeled and analyzed”, Physics Today, 72(2):40.
External links
● Frank Schweitzer – Google Scholar.
● Frank Schweitzer (faculty) – ETH Zurich.
● Frank Schweitzer – WorldCat Identities.
