COMPLEXITY (Conceptual framework for)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 550 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
R.L. FLOOD finds that systemic complexity depend on a number of characteristics as follows:
1- The system must included numerous parts
2- These parts must have numerous cross-relations or interrelations but must also have degrees of freedom (i.e. not be submitted to constraints so stringent that it becomes blocked)
3- Quite generally, the system is non-linear
Here FLOOD comments:“ A feature of non-linear systems is that different starting points can cause the system to become unstable. They are generally very difficult to understand and commonly ”display“ counter-intuitive behavior, a characteristic of our inability to comprehend complex systems” (1987, p.180).
4- The system is generally asymmetric, as a result of differential growth.
5- The system generally presents non-holonomic constraints.
FLOOD comments: “…parts of the system are temporarily outside central control and can in fact go off. Complexity may therefore arise when there is some sort of localized transient anarchy in the system” (p.181).
6- Complexity is also characterized by hierarchy, which means that the system's organization includes various levels, structurally different, needed for regulation and control.
7- Complexity may appear or grow through emergence, i.e. the shaping of organization at a meta-or supra level.
All this is intrinsic complexity. However at human level of perceptions, values and beliefs still a new level of complexity appears“ (p.182-3).