Philosophy and Complexity

Santos, Gil C.

doi:10.1007/s10699-012-9321-8

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…"promiscuous realism" (Dupré, 1993) it is frequently associated with an understanding of scientific knowledge as intrinsically "situated", precisely because observer-dependent. Santos (2013), for example, in the introduction to a special issue devoted to the philosophy of complex systems, highlights how complexity needs of a pluralist, pragmatic, interdisciplinary framework, which pays attention to the role of the observer. Rosen (1987), on his turn, described complexity as the property of a system corresponding to the difficulty in describing and modelling it.…”

Section: Complexity As a Pathway Towards Pluralismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexity, network theory, and the epistemological issue

Mazzocchi

2016

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute to refine the conceptual framework of complexity. For such a purpose, a number of epistemologically oriented remarks are provided, arguing about the relevance of second-order considerations for complexity and the importance of pluralism in scientific research. Design/methodology/approach At first, the paper focuses on one of the topical areas of complexity research, i.e. network theory, but uses this for drawing the attention to more general issues. The underlying assumption is that scientific and philosophical research might complement each other, and that this is especially crucial for the advancement of complexity. Findings The paper suggests three ways for refining the scheme of complexity: analyzing it at the right level, i.e. not focusing on single principles or theories (e.g. network theory), but rather on the overall frame; including both ontological and epistemological considerations; and recognizing how the epistemological implications of complexity foster the adoption of a pluralist stance in scientific research (and beyond). Social implications The way in which science (complexity) is portrayed, i.e. as “perspectival” and inclined to pluralism, could impact on how it is thought, designed and socially perceived. Originality/value Complexity is one of most promising fields of contemporary science, but still lacks of a coherent frame of analysis. This requires an investigation from different point of views, as an object of interdisciplinary cooperation. The main paper’s value consists of providing second-order considerations which puts scientific findings in perspective and can contribute to a better understanding of their meaning from a philosophical standpoint too.

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Section: Complexity As a Pathway Towards Pluralismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexity, network theory, and the epistemological issue

Mazzocchi

2016

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“…From this brief overview, it is evident that the evolution of complexity which characterizes the living system is subject to extremely different, and sometimes divergent, interpretations which, to same measure, depend of the reference background of the researcher involved. These reference backgrounds are, in fact, very varied and includes biologists, protein chemists, mathematicians, physicists, and also philosophers (e.g., Heylighen et al 2007;Santos 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Equilibrium thermodynamics and the genesis of protein–protein complexes in cells

Jennings

Belgio

Zucchelli

2021

Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei

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It is often thought that the structural complexity of living organisms places Life outside the laws of Physics. According to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, inanimate matter tends towards ever-increasing randomness. Most thermodynamic studies on the living system are course-grained in the sense that it is the whole organism which is considered and they lack microscopic details. In these studies, as the living system is an open system, non-linear thermodynamics have been used. This requires that a number of assumptions be made concerning the living system itself, which may not be correct in organisms living under natural environmental conditions. In the present study, we depart from this approach and use a fine-grained analysis of the genesis of subcellular protein complex structures. The analysis is performed in terms of classical equilibrium thermodynamics using the acquired knowledge of protein/protein interactions. In this way, it is demonstrated that the spontaneous creation of ordered subcellular structures occurs in accordance with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. We specifically consider the simple example of protein dimer and trimer formation from its monomer components, both in vitro and with chaperone assistance in vivo. The entropy decrease associated with protein complex assembly, on which the continuing debate is founded, is shown to be a relatively small component in the overall and positive entropy increase. Graphic abstract

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“…However, there is a problem with all discussions of complexity in that there is no definition generally agreed on. Nonetheless, complexity has become a concept of fundamental importance for the development of contemporary science as Santos (2013) empathizes in his discussion of the philosophical aspects of the concept.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexity, Natural Selection and the Evolution of Life and Humans

Ekstig

2014

Found Sci

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In this paper, I discuss the concept of complexity. I show that the principle of natural selection as acting on complexity gives a solution to the problem of reconciling the seemingly contradictory notion of generally increasing complexity and the observation that most species don’t follow such a trend. I suggest the process of evolution to be illustrated by means of a schematic diagram of complexity versus time, interpreted as a form of the Tree of Life. The suggested model implies that complexity is cumulatively increasing, giving evolution a direction, an arrow of time, thus also implying that the latest emerging species will be the one with the highest level of complexity. Since the human species is the last species evolved in the evolutionary process seen at large, this means that we are the species with the highest complexity. The model implies that the human species constitutes an integral part of organic evolution, yet rendering us the exclusive status as the species of the highest complexity.

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Philosophy and Complexity

Cited by 5 publications

References 3 publications

Complexity, network theory, and the epistemological issue

Complexity, network theory, and the epistemological issue

Equilibrium thermodynamics and the genesis of protein–protein complexes in cells

Complexity, Natural Selection and the Evolution of Life and Humans

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