up:: [[@Alicia Juarrero]] > [!cite] Dynamics in Action by Alicia Juarrero > Juarerro, Alicia (1999). *Dynamics in Action: Intentional Behaviour as a Complex System*. Cambridge: The MIT Press. ## Chapter 7, p.103 In Dynamics for Action, Juarrero argues that contemporary action theory has a flawed understanding of the concepts of cause and effect (covered in chapters 1-6). That... - [[Thermodynamic Systems]] can only use energy when a gradient exists, and if a gradient exists, then the arrangement of energy is orderly; a higher temperature here, and a lower temperature there. - [[The First Law of Thermodynamics]] states that the total amount of energy in the universe is conserved, while [[The Second Law of Thermodynamics]] states that over time [[Entropy]] (disorderly, unusable energy) increases, and usable energy decreases. - This inexorable increase in [[Entropy]] is used to differentiate past from present and future; to explain why time moves forwards. Fundamentally, however, these laws aren't entirely true for living systems. This is because the nineteenth-century "classical" view of [[Thermodynamics]] deals only with systems as if they're closed and isolated from their external environment, with which they don't interact. By bringing the environment within which a organism exits back into focus [[The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin|Darwin's work on evolution]] returned context into the equation. According to [[Evolutionary Theory]] ... > [!quote] > A organism's primary properties are both a record of the past environments and a conjecture about the current one. The overall species-niche super system determines the traits that individual organisms will exhibit and that ... > [!quote] > An organism's fitness with respect to its environment is measured by its chances of survival, which in turn affect the likelihood that it will reproduce and pass on its genes to the next generation. In [[1981]], [[@Ludwig von Bertalanffy]] introduced [[General Systems Theory]] with its fundamental claim that when living things are embedded in an orderly context, properties emerge that aren't present when the things exist as isolated individuals (the whole is greater than the sum of the parts). It turns out, context matters! Importantly, aggregates aren't systems. In an aggregate, the properties of the parts don't change, as a result of being part of the aggregate. However, in a system they do. Note that a systems organisation is different from its structure. Organisation refers to the relationship among the parts that make it a coherent whole of a particular kind. As a result, for a system to retain its identity, these relationships must remain the same. This isn't true for a systems structure. Structure refers to the actual parts, and the specific relationships between them required for a particular identity. > [!example] E.g., The Car > The organisation of parts that makes an object a "car" follow different structures e.g., hatchback, saloon, estate, coupe, SUV etc. Which in turn can follow different structures e.g., Focus, Golf, or Corrolla hatchbacks. > [!example] E.g., The Frog > Generally speaking, as a living thing grows its structure changes, but not its organisation. This isn't always the case, however. The metamorphosis of a tadpole into a frog, constitutes a change in organisation. [[Resilience]] is the ability of a system to absorb changes and still persist. Resilient systems are able to change their structure to ensure survival of their organisation; their identity. One the whole, [[Complex Adaptive Systems]] are more resilient than simple ones, particularly those that interact with their environment--they display the highest degree of [[Resilience]]. [[Evolution]] generally favours [[Resilience]] over [[Robustness]] (stability) In some systems, the relationships between the parts are processes. These are know as [[Structures of Processes]]. In process systems, the couplings between the parts are called flows. > [!quote] Hierarchies > We know of no natural hierarchical configuration not produced by an irreversible process ... any irreversible process dealing with discrete units will always be hierarchical, a fact not fully appreciated by biologists until comparatively recently. > --Brooks and Wiley 1988, 82 > [!seealso]- Evolution as Entropy > [Evolution As Entropy (Science and Its Conceptual Foundations s) 1st edition by Brooks, Daniel R., Wiley, E. O. (1988) Paperback: Amazon.co.uk: Books](https://amzn.eu/d/j7RnKbW) [[Entrainment]] (Dewan 1976, 183) Humans and human systems aren't linear, closed, or near equilibrium, and can't be understood by models with these assumptions ([[Bounded Applicability]]). We're not isolated from our environment, or completely controlled by it. We're embedded into and can influence our environment. A new theory was required. ## Chapter 8, p.119 ... ###### Related left:: [[@Dave Snowden]] down:: [[Context Changes Everything by Alicia Juarrero]] ---