Franco Vaio (PhD)

Informal meetings on complexity field

David Krakauer and the Epistemology of Complexity — Comments and Considerations on The Complex World: An Introduction to the Foundations of Complexity Science

Abstract: This presentation offers a short report of some of the most relevant elements discussed in David Krakauer’s The Complex World: An Introduction to the Foundations of Complexity Science, accompanied by my own reflections and considerations. Rather than proposing a theory ofì complexity, the book provides a rare and thoughtful introduction to the ongoing historical development and philosophical foundations of the complex approach to natural and social phenomena. Emphasizing ideas more than models, and highlighting the fact that a great number of scientists from very diverse backgrounds contributed to the emergence of so-called “complexity science”, Krakauer brings together different intellectual traditions to show how complexity emerges as a way of seeing the world, rather than as a fixed property of systems. The talk aims to highlight the originality of this perspective and its relevance for researchers working with models and simulations today.