Re: Reducionism, Hollism and Complexity

Don Mikulecky (mikuleck@HSC.VCU.EDU)
Tue, 30 Jun 1998 10:37:28 -0400


Don Mikulecky attempts to clarify:

Dr. Gary Boyd wrote:

> Surely no system can be uinderstood in its entirety -
> except by mystical illumination !?

Exactly Rosen's point IF you take the reductionist/mechanist point of view.
Then it takes an infinite number of such shadows to try to reconstruct a
complex system. On the other hand, what is really meant here is that there
are levels of function which are irreducible and lost under fractionation.
They can only be seen and understood from a whole system perspective.Don

> GB.At 10:08 29/06/98 -0300, you wrote:
> >Followin the discussion over "Non Physical Experience", I noticed
> >another
> >interesting theme being carried in parallel, that maybe we should
> >Don alludes to a non-decomposable type of complexity, that I would call
> >here
> >hollistic complexity. This type of complex system would have to be
> >understood in
> >its entirety, because we cannot apply reducionistic analysis methods to
> >understand
> >them. It seems that the study of systems of this type comprises the work
> >of Rosen
> >(if I understood right what Don said).
> >I can understand the current approach of studying complex systems, and
> >can imagine
> >examples of such approach. But I was trying to visualize what would be
> >those
> >hollistic complex systems, that can not be decomposable into simpler
> >components,
> >and could not make a clear, sharp example of such systems. Maybe someone
> >on the
> >list that is more used in dealing with such systems could present some
> >illustrations, just
> >in order to clarify our thoughts. We have to remember that this list
> >have elements from
> >different formations (we have engineers, biologists, philosophers, etc),
> >and maybe
> >something that is cristal clear to someone could not be like that to
> >others. This is an
> >excelent opportunity to share our own knowledge, and either check the
> >consistency
> >of our own paradigms, trying to explain them to someone not used to
> >them.
> >
> >--
> > //\\\
> > (o o)
> > +-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-oOO--(_)--OOo-=-=-+
> > \ Prof. Ricardo Ribeiro Gudwin /
> > / Intelligent Systems Development Group \
> > \ DCA - FEEC - UNICAMP | INTERNET /
> > / Caixa Postal 6101 | gudwin@dca.fee.unicamp.br \
> > \ 13081-970 Campinas, SP | gudwin@fee.unicamp.br /
> > / BRAZIL | gudwin@correionet.com.br \
> > +-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
> > \ URL: http://www.dca.fee.unicamp.br/~gudwin/ /
> > / Telephones: +55 (19) 788-3819 DCA/Unicamp (University) \
> > \ +55 (19) 254-0184 Residencia (Home) /
> > / FAX: +55 (19) 289-1395 \
> > +-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-+
> >
> Professor Gary Boyd, Education (Educational Technology Graduate
> Programme)Concordia University,
> 1455 DeMaisonneuve West, Montreal, Quebec Canada H3G 1M8.
> <boydg@vax2.concordia.ca> tel.(514)848-3459, fax(514)848-4520.
> homepage <http://alcor.concordia.ca/~boydg/drboyd.html >
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Toward Eco-CO-cultural conviviality, through participative cybersystemic
> modelling, and Grace & grudge networking.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------