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Complexity Theory: Societies as Complex Systems

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Complexity and Resilience in the Social and Ecological Sciences

Abstract

This chapter offers an alternative approach to systems drawing on complexity, emergence, and critical realism. It suggests that social-ecological systems are inherently dynamic, metabolic entities engaged in a continual exchange of matter and energy with their environments to forestall dissipation. The concepts of autopoiesis and dissipative structures are introduced as foundational concepts for thinking about social organisation and social order. It shows how a complex view of systems can serve as a guide for mixed-method investigation, how systems are inherently multidimensional, how we can think about change as an inherent property of systems, and how we can approach their measurement in a manner which does not obscure this complexity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sociology, University College Dublin, Dublin, UK

    Eoin Flaherty

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  1. Eoin Flaherty
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Flaherty, E. (2019). Complexity Theory: Societies as Complex Systems. In: Complexity and Resilience in the Social and Ecological Sciences. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54978-5_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54978-5_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54977-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54978-5

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