| Edition |
First edition |
| Description |
xv, 205 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 179-192) and index. |
| Contents |
Author's Note -- Part I : Complexity -- Chapter 1. A Science of Being -- Chapter 2. Order, Chaos, and the Origin of Complexity -- Chapter 3. Rules of Complexity and the Adjacent Possible -- Part II : Complementarity and Holarchy Or the "Boundless Body" -- Chapter 4. The Cellular Level : Our Bodies, Our Cells -- Chapter 5. The Molecular Level : Beyond the Cell Doctrine -- Chapter 6. The Atomic Level : Gaia -- Chapter 7. The Subatomic Level: Quantum Strangeness -- Chapter 8. All the Way Down: Space-Time and the Quantum Foam -- Part III : Consciousness -- Chapter 9. The "Hard Problem of Consciousness" -- Chapter 10. The Vienna Circle and Scientific Empiricism -- Chapter 11. Kurt Godel and the Limits of Formal Logic -- Chapter 12. The Return of Metaphysics : Fundamental Awareness -- Afterword |
| Summary |
"An electrifying introduction to complexity theory, the science of how complex systems behave--from cells to human beings, ecosystems, the known universe, and beyond--that profoundly reframes our understanding and illuminates our interconnectedness. Nothing in the universe is more complex than life. Throughout the skies, in oceans, and across lands, life is endlessly on the move. In its myriad forms--from cells to human beings, social structures, and ecosystems--life is open-ended, evolving, unpredictable, yet adaptive and self-sustaining. Complexity theory addresses the mysteries that animate science, philosophy, and metaphysics: how this teeming array of existence, from the infinitesimal to the infinite, is in fact a seamless living whole and what our place, as conscious beings, is within it. Physician, scientist, and philosopher Neil Theise makes accessible this "theory of being," one of the pillars of modern science, and its holistic view of human existence. He notes the surprising underlying connections within a universe that is itself one vast complex system--between ant colonies and the growth of forests, cancer and economic bubbles, murmurations of starlings and crowds walking down the street. The implications of complexity theory are profound, providing insight into everything from the permeable boundaries of our bodies to the nature of consciousness. Notes on Complexity is an invitation to trade our limited, individualistic view for the expansive perspective of a universe that is dynamic, cohesive, and alive--a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Theise takes us to the exhilarating frontiers of human knowledge and in the process restores wonder and meaning to our experience of the everyday"--Publisher's website. |
| Subject |
Complexity (Philosophy)
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Consciousness.
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Science -- Psychological aspects.
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Ontology.
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Metaphysics.
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Biotic communities.
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Metaphysics.
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Consciousness.
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Ecosystem.
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Complexity (Philosophy) (OCoLC)fst00871602
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Consciousness. (OCoLC)fst00875441
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Ontology. (OCoLC)fst01045995
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Science -- Psychological aspects.
(OCoLC)fst01108349
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| ISBN |
9781954118256 (hardback) |
|
1954118252 (hardback) |
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