From Complexity to Constraint: Toward a Structural Ontology of Scientific Systems

Abstract

This article critically examines the ontological status of complex systems as used in contem- porary scientific discourse. It argues that the concept of a complex system, while heuristically valuable, lacks ontological coherence. Drawing on structural realism and a critique of emergen- tism, it proposes an alternative framework in which what is commonly referred to as a complex system is reconceptualized as a regime of dynamically stabilized constraints. This structural approach avoids the pitfalls of system reification and offers a clearer ontological account of scientific organization.

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A Ln
Paris Université Cité

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References found in this work

The Architecture of Complexity.Herbert A. Simon - 1962 - Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 106 (6):467–482.
More is different.Philip W. Anderson - 1972 - Science 177 (4047):393–396.
Philosophy of complex systems.Cliff Hooker - unknown - Handbook of the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 10.
Ontic structural realism and the interpretation of quantum mechanics.Vincent Lam & Michael Esfeld - 2009 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 1 (1):77–99.
On the complexities of complex economic dynamics.J. Barkley Rosser - 1999 - Journal of Economic Perspectives 13 (4):169–192.

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