Morin's complexity framework, CAS and Vitology, Eco3S simulation

An analytical framework derived from Edgar Morin's distinction between restricted and general complexity examines the epistemological foundations of applied systems disciplines. This framework identifies four characteristic patterns of restricted complexity that persist despite methodological innovations, often leaving paradigmatic assumptions intact. In response, a "reflexive systems practice" is proposed, integrating general complexity and second-order cybernetics. This practice is founded on principles such as acknowledging constitutive participation and cultivating ongoing ethical deliberation.

An article uses Edgar Morin's distinction between restricted and general complexity as an analytical framework for applied systems disciplines. This framework identifies four characteristic patterns of restricted complexity: decomposition as a fundamental strategy, external observability, controllability through method, and instrumental primacy. Research indicates restricted complexity remains present across these disciplines, even with methodological innovations. The article introduces "reflexive systems practice," integrating general complexity and second-order cybernetics, based on five principles: acknowledging constitutive participation, treating boundaries as enacted, addressing uncertainty as ontological, integrating multiple rationalities, and cultivating ongoing ethical deliberation.

An article proposes Vitology as an extension to Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) theory. This extension intends to provide a unified conceptual framework for evaluating the long-term viability of adaptive systems. The framework interprets viability as a universal organizational criterion, integrating aspects like adaptation and resilience. This work integrates conceptual theory, quantitative indicators, mathematical models, computational algorithms, artificial intelligence, and viable digital twins into a unified framework. Artificial intelligence within this methodology supports adaptive computational investigation, remaining subordinate to conceptual theory, mathematical rigor, and empirical validation.

A new framework, Eco3S, is introduced to address issues in large language model-based agent-based modeling research. It incorporates mechanisms for co-evolving agent-environment interactions, flexible counterfactual reasoning, and iterative refinement of experimental designs. Experiments demonstrate Eco3S's effectiveness in replicating established economic studies and phenomena, showing its scalability and generalizability.

A study applied Complexity Theory, alongside Resource Dependence Theory and Diffusion of Innovation, to analyze AI governance in African higher education. The study investigated policy development, institutional readiness, and emerging risks within these institutions, informing the analysis of over 30 public documents related to AI strategies.

Failures in physical infrastructure can cause changes in financial network topology, a phenomenon existing systemic risk models do not detect or manage. Researchers introduced CASCADEnt, a physics-informed entropy protocol for infrastructure-coupled financial hypergraphs. This model integrates an entropy threshold, metabolic centrality attribution, and a governance protocol for interventions. A related finding indicates that twelve apex nodes concentrate 85.5% of total system entropy.

A work presents the viewpoints of two chemists studying Complex Systems, structured as a Questions-and-Answers discussion.
Research on cortical organotypic cultures shows elevated magnesium reduces neural network complexity. This is evidenced by an increase in burstiness index, loss of entropy, and increases in time-reversibility, connectivity, and redundant information transfer.
An integrated model combining Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (SEM-PLS) and System Dynamics (SD) was developed to analyze relationships between core values, work behavior, and organizational performance. System Dynamics analysis within this model identified reinforcing and balancing feedback loops that sustain organizational performance through value alignment and behavior.
A study on tourism's ecological impact in rural areas used DPSIR and PLS-SEM frameworks. It recommended a shift toward integrated governance frameworks for ecological sustainability, suggesting approaches such as sustainable rural tourism.
A study identified indicators of cognitive and teaching presence in various spaces within blended courses.
Teacher online discussion contributions were predominantly direct instruction.
Student online contributions were at the exploration level of cognitive presence, unless higher levels were explicitly promoted.
A study recommended modifying the cognitive presence construct to add reflection as an indicator for the resolution phase.

Sources

Restricted versus general complexity: epistemological foundations for reflexive systems practice
Purpose This article develops Edgar Morin's distinction between restricted and general complexity as an analytical framework for examining epistemological foundations in applied systems disciplines. It asks whether the epistemological commitments underlying most systems practice permit aspirations towards participation, multiple perspectives and ethical engagement to be realised meaningfully, or whether they constitute elaborations of method that leave paradigmatic assumptions intact. Design/methodology/approach The article employs Morin's framework alongside second-order cybernetics (von…
Complex Adaptive Systems and Vitology
Complex Adaptive Systems (CAS) constitute one of the most influential interdisciplinary research paradigms for understanding the behavior of biological, ecological, economic, social, organizational, and technological systems. Through concepts such as adaptation, self-organization, emergence, nonlinear interactions, and distributed decision-making, CAS theory has significantly advanced the scientific investigation of dynamic complexity. Nevertheless, contemporary approaches generally investigate these properties independently and do not provide a unified conceptual framework for evaluating the…
Eco3S: Complex Socio-Economic System Simulation via Agent-Based Models
The rapid development of large language models (LLMs) has renewed interest in agent-based modeling (ABM). However, current LLM-based ABM research faces several key challenges: modeling evolving agent-environment interactions, enabling flexible counterfactual reasoning, and automating simulation workflows for scientific research. In this paper, we propose Eco3S, a socio-economic system simulation framework for economic research and policy analysis that addresses these challenges through three key mechanisms: (1) Co-evolving Environment Design, a bidirectional feedback loop where agents and the…
AI governance in African higher education: Status, challenges, and a future-proof policy framework
As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes global education systems, African higher education institutions (HEIs) face pressure to adopt and govern AI ethically and effectively. This study investigates five questions: (1) What is the status of AI governance in African HEIs? (2) How ready are institutions to adopt AI policy? (3) What ethical and operational risks are emerging? (4) How do institutional and national AI strategies align? and (5) What future-proof governance framework can be proposed? Using a desk-based meta-synthesis, the study analyzes over 30 publicly available institutional,…
Eskom-Induced Metabolic Arrest in JSE Financial Hypergraphs: A Physics-Informed Entropy Protocol for Systemic Risk Governance
Physical infrastructure failure induces topological phase transitions in financial networks that existing systemic risk models cannot detect, attribute, or govern. This study introduces CASCADEnt (Cascading Systemic-Entropy-Detecting Network), a physics-informed entropy protocol for infrastructure-coupled financial hypergraphs. The model integrates three components: (i) a Landauer-motivated entropy threshold (S∗=2.852 nats) that detects imminent metabolic arrest before it manifests as market stress; (ii) Gradient-Boosted Integrated Gradients (GB-IG) metabolic centrality that attributes…
What are Complex Systems and how does their investigation impact the foundations of chemistry?
Abstract Humanity in the XXI century is called to confront global challenges rooted in the behavior of Complex Systems. As a result, scientists are increasingly driven to orient both research and education toward the interdisciplinary field of Complexity. Chemists, in particular, are encouraged to contribute to this collective effort, as chemistry stands at the crossroads of human and animal health, the planet’s biological and physical environments, and technological innovation. At the same time, chemists are challenged and enriched in their efforts to comprehend Complex Systems and face…
Evaluating the tourism ecological security in rural regions using the DPSIR framework
Recently, the rapid growth of tourism and the increasing number of tourists in Iran have emerged as a serious threat to wildlife conservation and environmental protection. Although rural tourism development has been widely promoted in recent decades as a key strategy for economic growth and improving the quality of life in rural areas, its implications for ecological security are becoming increasingly evident. Ecological security in tourism is defined as a state of harmony in which the natural environment, social activities, and economic structures coexist in balance. This study adopts a…
Effect of acute elevated magnesium on bursting activity and information-processing dynamics in cortical cultures
ABSTRACT Magnesium (Mg 2+ ) plays a significant role in hippocampal memory and learning and is implicated in a variety of neurological disorders, such as migraine. Despite this crucial role Mg 2+ has on brain health, its effect on the dynamics of networks of neurons is still not fully understood. This study investigates the impact of several doses of elevated extracellular Mg 2+ on cortical organotypic cultures . Cultures were recorded on a 512-microelectrode array and analyzed using the burstiness index (BI), the rate of network-wide bursts relative to other neuronal activity. We also use a…
A Data-Driven Integrated Model of Core Values and Work Behavior for Organizational Performance: A Hybrid SEM-PLS and System Dynamics Approach
This study develops a data-driven integrated model combining Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (SEM-PLS) and System Dynamics (SD) to analyze the relationship between core values, work behavior, and organizational performance. The research addresses a critical gap in prior studies, which predominantly examine these relationships using static approaches and often overlook the mediating role of behavior and the dynamic interactions over time. A quantitative approach was employed using survey data from industrial sector employees, with SEM-PLS used to test causal relationships…

Also this week

Exploring teaching and cognitive presence in blended learning: promoting pre-service teachers’ critical thinking

Full transcript

The tools used to manage complex systems might also be restricting our ability to understand them. That possibility is the basis for a framework we're exploring today on ComplexityPod. We begin with its foundation in the work of Edgar Morin. A recent article starts with a fundamental question about how we analyze complex systems. It uses Edgar Morin's work to ask if our current methods are really helping us engage with complexity, or if they're just new labels on old ways of thinking. So, a critique of the tools themselves. The article suggests that many applied systems disciplines are stuck in what it calls 'restricted complexity'. Exactly. It identifies four patterns of this restricted thinking: breaking things down into parts, assuming an outside observer can see everything, trying to control outcomes with a specific method, and prioritizing the tool over the problem. And the argument is that these patterns persist even in disciplines that are supposed to be more holistic, like soft systems methodology or critical systems thinking. Right. So as an alternative, the authors propose a 'reflexive systems practice'. It’s built on principles like acknowledging that the observer is part of the system and treating uncertainty as a feature, not a bug. This idea of building a more complete framework seems to be a theme. Another paper introduces a concept called Vitology as an extension of Complex Adaptive Systems theory, or CAS. An extension how? What does it add? It aims to provide a unified way to evaluate the long-term viability of any adaptive system. It integrates concepts like adaptation and resilience to measure whether a system can continue to exist over time. And it brings together different components—quantitative indicators, mathematical models, computational algorithms—under one conceptual roof. It's about a consistent methodology. Which is a good place to pivot from theory to application. Researchers are using agent-based modeling with large language models to simulate economies, and they ran into challenges. Which led to a new framework called Eco3S. It’s designed to handle co-evolving interactions between agents and their environment, and to allow for more flexible counterfactual reasoning. And it’s not just in economic simulations. This kind of thinking is being applied to governance. A study looked at how African higher education institutions are governing artificial intelligence, using complexity theory to understand policy development and risks. The application in finance is also striking. One study found that failures in physical infrastructure—like a power grid outage—can trigger major shifts in financial networks that our current systemic risk models are completely blind to. So a physical failure creates a financial vulnerability that no one is even looking for. The study calls it a topological phase transition. To address this, they introduce a protocol called CASCADEnt. Which is designed to see these problems before they cascade through the market. It uses an entropy threshold to detect stress and can even attribute the potential collapse to specific nodes in the network. The same kind of modeling is happening at the organizational level. A study combined two modeling techniques—Partial Least Squares and System Dynamics—to map the connections between a company's core values, employee behavior, and its performance. And the System Dynamics part found feedback loops, both reinforcing and balancing, that drive how that performance changes over time. It's all connected. A study of tourism in rural Iran came to a similar conclusion from a different angle. It called for integrated governance to balance development with ecological security, moving away from isolated actions. The same dynamic appears in biology. Research on cortical organotypic cultures found that adding magnesium increases the 'burstiness' of neural networks. Meaning what for the system? It reduces the complexity of the neural activity. There's a loss of entropy, an increase in connectivity, and more redundant information transfer. The system shifts toward a more integrated but less complex state. That's all for this week's issue. We'll be back next week with more research summaries. Thanks for listening to ComplexityPod.

From our community

At the Intersections — latest issue

Welcome to this week’s issue of At the Intersections, tracking patterns across distinct fields of inquiry. This collection connects investigations into how light signals from deep space are categorized, how generations of cells interact and

Read the latest issue →