Complexity and Sustainability [Paperback]

Complex dynamic system studies have been studied explicitly in the natural sciences, and most only implicitly throughout other fields. Yet much great social theory and philosophy is in fact based in complexity, and important concepts like postmodernism, risk, and collapse all stem from complexity. Six key terms are explored: nonlinearity, feedbacks, thresholds, hierarchies, emergence and self-organization, and dozens of related principles are discussed, with a focus on uncertainty, risk, vulnerability, learning, strategy, resilience, collapse and sustainability. The book surveys the role of these complexity principles in the natural sciences, social theory, transdisciplinary discourse, philosophy, and ethics, and shows how this complexity framework is a valuable lens for approaching the spectre of climate change and life in the Anthropocene.

Foreward  1. Introduction  2. Elucidating Complexity Theories  3. Complexity in the Natural Sciences  4. Complexity in Social Theory  5. Towards Transdisciplinarity  6. Complexity in Philosophy: Complexification and the Limits to Knowledge  7. Complexity in Ethics  8. Earth in the Anthropocene  9. Complexity and Climate Change  10. American Dreams, Ecological Nightmares and New Visions  11. Complexity and Sustainability: Wicked Problems, Gordian Knots and Synergistic Solutions  12. Conclusion

Complexity and Sustainability is a pillar of scholarship. Wells has read much of the vast literature on complexity, extracted a set of major concepts for our times, and shown how and why these are significant. And she has done so with critical and creative thinking. As a result, this is poised to be a widely cited, major reference.

The literature on complexity is varied and is cast in different dialects and epistemologies, to the point of different paradigms. Wells provides a refreshing porl3