Complexity Articles
Here are the articles that are being circulated to provide an introduction to complexity science, in order to guide our future discussions:
“Dancing with Systems”
by Donella Meadows
http://www.sustainabilityinstitute.org/pubs/Dancing.html
– This article provides an accessible, creative introduction to complex systems thinking.
“Complexity & Philosophy”
by Heylighen, Cilliers and Gershenson
http://uk.arxiv.org/ftp/cs/papers/0604/0604072.pdf
– This article places complexity science in historical context, in relation to Newtonian science, general systems theory and cybernetics.
“Complexity: The Science, its Vocabulary, and its Relation to Organizations”
by Michael Lissack
– This article, from the first issue of the journal Emergence: Complexity & Organization (E:CO), describes how complexity science has been applied to organizational development and science. It introduces and describes some of the complexity concepts and metaphors that have been used to make sense of organizations, management, and change efforts.
“Complexity Theory in Organization Science: Seizing the Promise or Becoming a Fad?”
by Bill McKelvey
– This article was also published in the first issue of E:CO. It embraces the skepticism that exists regarding complexity theory, and goes into depth regarding the philosophy of complexity science, with a refreshing self-reflexive quality as illustrated in this quote: “Without a program of experimental testing, complexity applications remain metaphorical and are difficult to distinguish from witchcraft.”
“Classic publications on complex, evolving systems: a citation-based survey”
by Francis Heylighen
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/PublicationsComplexity.html
– This is a useful summary of highly cited texts on complexity, linking each text to the field or research tradition from which it originated.