A Categorical-Generative Theory of Social Processes: Towards the Ontological and Mathematical Foundations of a Grammar-based Model for Qualitative Research

Abstract

This paper proposes a mathematical model to describe the dynamics of flows of events that evolve, conditioned by a specific set of structures and contextual conditions, such as complex, dynamic, and contingent social phenomena. A discrete rule-based model for patterns of sequences of events deduced from Generative Grammar Theory and Category Theory depicts theoretical propositions and identifies causal relationships in empirical evidence. Regarding the ontological and epistemological assumptions of Critical Realism, the proposed modeling methodology adopts the logic of retroduction instead of the logic of falsification as a knowledge-extending means of drawing explanatory inferences from data in a systematic way.