Philosophy of Complex Systems

Covering a wide range of developments in the burgeoning field of complex systems, this book contains highly original essays that will be of interest to practicing scientists as much as they will be to philosophers of science - not least because many of the essays are by leading scientists who are currently creating the emerging new complex systems paradigm.

The domain of nonlinear dynamical systems and its mathematical underpinnings has been developing exponentially. This book presents a comprehensive picture of the manifold philosophically interesting impacts of the developments in understanding nonlinear systems and the unique aspects of their complexity.The domain of nonlinear dynamical systems and its mathematical underpinnings has been developing exponentially for a century, the last 35 years seeing an outpouring of new ideas and applications and a concomitant confluence with ideas of complex systems and their applications from irreversible thermodynamics. A few examples are in meteorology, ecological dynamics, and social and economic dynamics. These new ideas have profound implications for our understanding and practice in domains involving complexity, predictability and determinism, equilibrium, control, planning, individuality, responsibility and so on.Our intention is to draw together in this volume, we believe for the first time, a comprehensive picture of the manifold philosophically interesting impacts of recent developments in understanding nonlinear systems and the unique aspects of their complexity. The book will focus specifically on the philosophical concepts, principles, judgments and problems distinctly raised by work in the domain of complex nonlinear dynamical systems, especially in recent years.