Geyer, Robert and Harrison, Neil E. (2021) From Order to Complexity : The natural and social sciences. In: Governing Complexity in the 21st Century :. Routledge, London, pp. 14-32. ISBN 9780367276263
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
This chapter briefly explores the roots of the Western pursuit of order and its foundation in the Enlightenment and how new developments led towards a rejection of these visions of order and the emergence of complexity in the physical and natural sciences. Unsurprisingly, the social sciences of the 19th and 20th centuries were enthralled by these visions of order and often tried to apply them with occasionally devastating results on various societies. Over time, challenges to these visions emerged in the social sciences and the door to complexity was opened in these fields as well. Following this, the chapter presents a ‘complexity map’ of the interacting aspects of physical, biotic and social complexity and concludes with a discussion of some of the rules, expectations and implications of social complexity and ends with a brief discussion on the tendency towards disorder.