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Philosophy of Complexity

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Philosophy of Complexity

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Contact information: MelanieSwan.com/contact.html.

 

Philosophy of Complexity

Complexity is a state or quality of being that is nonlinear, dynamic, emergent, open, unpredictable and unknowable at the outset, self-organizing, and interdependent. The world has become complex and complexity science is how we are able to have a more sophisticated grasp of the design, operation, coordination, and analysis of large-scale systems (cities, supply chain networks, climate change systems, power grids, software codebases, data centers, cybersecurity threat monitoring, fraud detection, and financial networks). Since complexity is a means of how we are conceiving the world and its operations, and a growing area of research in many disciplines, a philosophical understanding of complexity is warranted. This course focuses on philosophical approaches to investigate and contribute conceptual resources to the study and understanding of complexity. A wide range of interpretations of the Philosophy of Complexity is addressed. Approaches might include those that are uncategorized as such, or based in Analytic, Continental, Phenomenological, Pragmatist, and Process philosophy. Topics may treat themes extending from the philosophical consideration of complexity to complexity as a philosophy.

 

Texts

 Primary

  • Humphreys, Paul. (2016). Emergence. Oxford UK: Oxford University Press.
  • Edmonds, Bruce, Diederik Aerts, and Carlos Gershenson, Eds. (2007). Worldviews, Science and Us: Philosophy and Complexity. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Company.
  • Preiser, Rika, Ed. (2016). Critical Complexity: Collected Essays. Berlin: De Gruyter.

Secondary

  • Babich, Babette, and Dimitri Ginev, Eds. (2014). The Multidimensionality of Hermeneutic Phenomenology. New York NY: Springer.
  • Bedau, Mark A. and Paul Humphreys, Eds. (2008). Emergence: Contemporary Readings in Philosophy and Science. Cambridge MA: MIT Press.
  • Heylighen, Francis, Paul Cilliers, and Carlos Gershenson. (2007). “Complexity and Philosophy.” Complexity, Science and Society. Jan Bogg, Robert Geyer, Eds. Oxford: Radcliffe Publishing, Ltd.
  • Human, Oliver, and Paul Cilliers. (2013). “Towards an Economy of Complexity: Derrida, Morin and Bataille.” Theory, Culture & Society. 30(5):24-44.
  • Malaina Alvaro. (2015). “Two complexities: The need to link complex thinking and complex adaptive systems science.” Emergence: Complexity and Organization. 2015 Mar 31 (1).
  • Parrondo, Juan M.R., Horowitz, Jordan M., and Sagawa, Takahiro. (2015). “Thermodynamics of information.” Nature Physics. (11):131-139.
  • Swan, Melanie. (2017). “Included Middle.” Response to The Edge Question 2017: What scientific term or concept ought to be more widely known? John Brockman, Ed.

 

Part I: Philosophical Considerations in Complexity as a Science and Approach

Ontology (issues concerning the existence and definition of complexity): 

 What is the nature of complexity? What are the relevant terms, definitions, properties, scope, and dimensions of complexity? What are its constraints, boundaries, transgressions, remainders, and surprises? Does complexity have a magnitude or is it binary? What can be said about telos and complexity: blind amoebic reaction to environment or goal-seeking?

  • Philosophical description of the features of complexity - Emergence, phase transition, causality, entropy, energy, fit-ordered models, symmetry and symmetry-breaking, interstices, anomalies, outliers, boundaries, equilibrium, disequilibrium, asymptotes
  • Relation – What is the relation between scientific and philosophical conceptions of complexity?
  • Existence – What is it for complexity to exist and not exist, to come into and go out of existence? What is an account of the existence and progression of complexity?
  • Emergence – How may we specify the emergence of complexity? Does complexity constitute a form of existence? What is the opposite of emergence? How are emergence and novelty related?
  • Phase transition – What kind of a thing, philosophically, is phase transition? What are the conditions of possibility, reversibility, and significance? What are the properties of phase transitions? Are there different classes of phase transitions? What is the relationship between emergence and reduction in phase transitions (simultaneous? preceding? conditioning?)
  • Causality – How does causality operate in complex systems? Is there a larger ecology in which causality is one element, and other kinds of relationships between elements exist such as correlation, association, interconnection, and loose-coupling? Is data science’s shift to prediction instead of causation an informative example (with methods such as structural equation modeling, causal graphical models, and potential outcomes models)? What is the role of observation in complex systems?

Epistemology (issues concerning knowledge and proof in complexity)

How do we know, not that complexity is correct as a description of the world, but how it is that complexity can be correct as a description of the world? What are the conditions for the accuracy of our knowledge of complexity? What is the scope of knowability afforded by complexity?

  • How are truth and complexity related? What kinds of truth are available? How do we know? What is the justification?
  • What should the proof standards be for philosophical approaches to complexity, or a Philosophy of Complexity? How do we know that complexity or a Philosophy of Complexity had an effect, accomplished anything helpful or otherwise?
  • How is it that a complexity proof can work, that is the philosophical structure? Is providing proof(s) of complexity a worthwhile philosophical objective? How? What is the benefit? What is a philosophical proof of complexity supposed to show? How does it help if knowledge or a certain kind of knowledge about complexity is confirmed?

Axiology (issues concerning what gets noticed and valorized in complexity)

Beyond questions of existence (ontology), and knowability (epistemology), there are axiological issues that deal with valorization. This includes which aspects of something get noticed and valorized, what is assessed to be “right” in the sense of being seen as beautiful, elegant, or well-formed (aesthetics), and how “right” behavior is conceived within the domain (ethics). The relation of the human individual to the phenomenon is considered.

  • What is the phenomenological experience of complexity? What are hermeneutics (interpretations) of complexity? How are the meaning, intention, and telos of complexity related?
  • What is the human reaction to complexity? How might the human-complexity relation be characterized?
  • Are there ethical and moral responsibilities in regard to complexity?
  • Are there learnings from examples of complexity in society: political, economic, and social systems, literature (hysterical realism, tragedy (irreducible factors))

 

Part II: Complexity as a Philosophy

What is Complexity as a Philosophy?

What are the domains of Complexity as a Philosophy and Philosophy of Complexity, and their objectives? What is the definition, scope, purpose, and aim? What different kinds of classes of Complexity as Philosophy or Philosophies of Complexity might be expected? What is the possibility space for Philosophies of Complexity? Is a Philosophy of Complexity necessary? What critical work should it be doing? What are its benefits, outcomes?

  • What is the scope of topics that should be considered in the Philosophy of Complexity: a philosophical specification of the principles of complexity; description, characterization, implications, and prediction of complexity?
  • How are the math, science, and philosophy of complexity interrelated? Which precedes? How are the terms interrelated - by causality, influence, conditionality?
  • How are complexity, information, and computation related? Computational complexity? Are cryptographic blockchains a stable form of entropy-generation?
  • What are some debates that characterize the field of the Philosophy of Complexity? One is between generalist and non-generalist views. The generalist position is that complexity should be considered in a systemic way which does not reduce complex features. The non-generalist position asserts that math does or will explain all of complexity.
  • What is the difference between theory and philosophy? Does complexity theory treat generalizations and abstractions arising internally in the field of practice of complexity science? Does the philosophy of complexity remain external, removed from practitioner operations, taking up the philosophical implications of complexity more generally, including the impact on other areas of study, and self and world

Complexity as a Philosophical Method and Adequation

Should the philosophical approach to complexity itself be one of complexity? What are ways to operationalize complexity as a philosophical method? How can complexity as a method be applied effectively? Is it even possible to do a Philosophy of Complexity that is congruent with the principles of complexity? What constitutes well-formedness, measurement, and adequation?

  • Does a well-formed philosophy of complexity have the same attributes of complex systems (dynamic, evolving, unclear directionality from the outset, multi-factor) both in its positing and its ongoing application?
  • What are appropriate evaluation mechanisms: if complex systems evolve over time, what are adequate means of evaluating them? Should evaluation metrics also change and evolve over time with the system, how is the adequation to be substantiated?

Applying traditional Philosophical Themes to Complexity

How (if at all) do typical philosophical themes make sense in understanding complexity? 

  • Universal-particular, parts-whole, primary-secondary qualities, transcendence-immanence, possibility-actuality, interiority-exteriority, affirmation-negation-synthesis
  • Idealism, realism, and materialism. To what extent is complexity an idealist or realist formulation, material or immaterial? How does complexity make sense with new materialism and object-oriented formulations?

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