Something Old or Something New?: Complexity Theory and Sociology

Does complexity theory offer novel theoretical and empirical insights into social processes or is it merely a repackaging of sociology’s central tenets? This question motivates the following theoretical overview and analysis in hopes to spur further inquiry into social complexity. Complexity theor...

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Main Author: Daniel J. Davis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: North Carolina Sociological Association 2019-05-01
Series:Sociation Today
Subjects:
Online Access:http://sociation.ncsociologyassoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/davis_final_05032019.pdf
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spelling doaj-aea6994e1e7241548fa5666df2a843572020-11-24T22:06:36ZengNorth Carolina Sociological AssociationSociation Today1542-63001542-63002019-05-011814051Something Old or Something New?: Complexity Theory and SociologyDaniel J. Davis0University of South Carolina UpstateDoes complexity theory offer novel theoretical and empirical insights into social processes or is it merely a repackaging of sociology’s central tenets? This question motivates the following theoretical overview and analysis in hopes to spur further inquiry into social complexity. Complexity theory posits that interaction between social agents produces emergent macro level patterns; a statement which is remarkably consistent with extant sociological theory. Following this line of inquiry, I provide a brief discussion of complexity theory, emphasizing the connection with sociological theory. I then attempt to clarify complexity theory by illustrating that it is neither a theory nor a method of research, but instead a meta-theory. In this light, complexity theory can illuminate certain underdeveloped aspects of sociological analysis, such as the importance of initial conditions and non-linear dynamics, enriching our understanding of the social phenomenon. The aim, therefore, of this paper is to spur sociological theorizing, far from equilibrium, at the edge of chaos and complexity.http://sociation.ncsociologyassoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/davis_final_05032019.pdfSociological TheoryComplexity ScienceEmergenceTheory Development
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Daniel J. Davis
spellingShingle Daniel J. Davis
Something Old or Something New?: Complexity Theory and Sociology
Sociation Today
Sociological Theory
Complexity Science
Emergence
Theory Development
author_facet Daniel J. Davis
author_sort Daniel J. Davis
title Something Old or Something New?: Complexity Theory and Sociology
title_short Something Old or Something New?: Complexity Theory and Sociology
title_full Something Old or Something New?: Complexity Theory and Sociology
title_fullStr Something Old or Something New?: Complexity Theory and Sociology
title_full_unstemmed Something Old or Something New?: Complexity Theory and Sociology
title_sort something old or something new?: complexity theory and sociology
publisher North Carolina Sociological Association
series Sociation Today
issn 1542-6300
1542-6300
publishDate 2019-05-01
description Does complexity theory offer novel theoretical and empirical insights into social processes or is it merely a repackaging of sociology’s central tenets? This question motivates the following theoretical overview and analysis in hopes to spur further inquiry into social complexity. Complexity theory posits that interaction between social agents produces emergent macro level patterns; a statement which is remarkably consistent with extant sociological theory. Following this line of inquiry, I provide a brief discussion of complexity theory, emphasizing the connection with sociological theory. I then attempt to clarify complexity theory by illustrating that it is neither a theory nor a method of research, but instead a meta-theory. In this light, complexity theory can illuminate certain underdeveloped aspects of sociological analysis, such as the importance of initial conditions and non-linear dynamics, enriching our understanding of the social phenomenon. The aim, therefore, of this paper is to spur sociological theorizing, far from equilibrium, at the edge of chaos and complexity.
topic Sociological Theory
Complexity Science
Emergence
Theory Development
url http://sociation.ncsociologyassoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/davis_final_05032019.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT danieljdavis somethingoldorsomethingnewcomplexitytheoryandsociology
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