Paul Cilliers (1956–2011)
Autore di Complexity and Postmodernism: Understanding Complex Systems
Opere di Paul Cilliers
Etichette
Informazioni generali
- Data di nascita
- 1956-12-25
- Data di morte
- 2011-07-31
- Nazionalità
- South Africa
- Istruzione
- Stellenbosch University
- Attività lavorative
- philosopher
- Premi e riconoscimenti
- Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award (2006)
Utenti
Recensioni
Statistiche
- Opere
- 4
- Utenti
- 90
- Popolarità
- #205,795
- Voto
- 4.1
- Recensioni
- 1
- ISBN
- 11
Cilliers’s discussion of these two notions helps the reader parse through some of the thick language regarding modern systems of thought to get a better understanding of the modern world. He starts by approaching the world of complex systems the way a computer scientist would approach a algorithm. There are rule sets and patterns, and most things fall inside those two buckets to varying degrees. To that process, he adds a layer of postmodern thought that allows for a richer, relativistic understanding of complex systems. From there, he fleshes out a system of what he calls “connectionist” thought, which can be likened to a neural network or a self-defining language.
The more I think about the world today, the more this system of thought seems to work. Many of the forces in our world are interconnected in a large complex system. World economies, social forces, religious theology, and many other structures have both internal complexity and fit inside a large framework. While this book is relatively short, it isn’t a very easy read, and there were large sections during I just dutifully went along with the text. But there were some interesting nuggets of thought that I’ll take to the next book. A short but dense book.… (altro)