Observing Complexity

Book excerpt: The rubric of systems theory brings together conceptual models and approaches in the sciences and social sciences that study complexity. It attempts to provide a coherent means of describing all systems, whether organic or inorganic, and offers a theory of knowledge that can account for the integration of humans in the social, informational, and ecological systems in which we are enmeshed. An introduction to the major concepts and foremost thinkers of systems theory, this book brings systems theory into interaction with the major figures of postmodern theory. The format is multiplex and open -- a rich montage, including interviews, exemplary essays, and staged dialogues. Throughout, the writers' aim is not to solidity theory but to provide a thorough explication and an open-ended exploration of how systems theory can address, in a fresh and productive way, theoretical questions that too often have led to impasses between different schools of postmodern theory.