ABSTRACT
Having discussed functionalmodels and notions of functional causality in the three preceding chapters, this chapter continues with the consideration of processes. Several approaches are possible. A first alternative concerns the representation of time. One can use an implicit representation of time by interpreting the functions of a functional model as implying a temporal relationship. Alternatively, one can use a time axis to define processes as sequences of variables (e.g. time series or
whether processes are in terms of states or events. Time series and statistical processes are almost always defined in terms of state variables (see the definitions in Section 3.2).Alternatively, one can think of processes as temporally structured series of events. A formal representation requires event variables which are conceptually different from state variables. A third alternative concerns the distinction between individual-level and population-level processes. Individual-level processes relate to a single object (or situation) considered as a whole. Population-level processes, on the other hand, are conceptual constructions derived from two or more individual-level processes and therefore permit a distinction between two conceptual levels.
