French Literature Reviews - 2026
Understanding Complexity: Epistemology and Pragmatics
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Understanding Complexity
Epistemology and Pragmatics
edited by Jean-Louis Le Moigne and Edgar Morin
Éditions de l'Aube - 2007
ISBN 978-2-7526-0299-2
Table of Contents
Introduction, by Edgar MORIN & Jean-Louis LE MOIGNE
I - Understanding Complexity: “From Restricted Complexity to General Complexity”
On Understanding Complexity: Interweaving Epistemology and Pragmatics, by Jean-Louis LE MOIGNE
Restricted Complexity, General Complexity, by Edgar MORIN
The Interplay of the Discrete and the Continuous in Modeling: Dynamic Relativity of Conceptual Structures, by Boris SAULNIER and Giuseppe LONGO
Representation and Measurement of Complexities, Without Loss of Meaning, by Mioara MUGUR-SCHÄCHTER
History of Cindynics, Emergence of New Patterns, by Georges-Yves KERVERN
Enactive Modeling and Autonomization, by Jacques TISSEAU and Marc PARENTHOËN
“Yet the map sometimes transforms the territory”, by Evelyne ANDREEWSKY
II - Through the Conjunction of Complexity: “Body, Mind, World”
Cosmology as a Laboratory of Complexity, by Hervé BARREAU
Analogies Between Living Bio-Psycho-Cognitive Systems and Social Systems, by Emmanuel NUNEZ
Nature-Nurture: The Dialogical Construction of the Feminine and the Masculine, by Ana SÀNCHEZ
The Clinic of Complexity: An Eco-Etho-Anthropological Project, by Jacques MIERMONT
III - Complexity and Governance: “Restoring All Solidarity”
On the Invention of Ruralism: An Opportunity for Intelligent Urbanism, Round Table moderated by Edith HEURGON and Alfred PÉTRON
Geopoetics and Anthropolitics of Territory, by Pascal ROGGERO
Between the Duty of Foresight and the Obligation of Retrospection, by Michel ROUGER
Social Mediation: The Inventive Tunnelling of Possibles, by Bruno TARDIEU
Complex Governance and the Learning Organization: Feedback from Experience, by Marie-José AVENIER
Anthropological Foresight, by Pierre F. GONOD
Modeling and Acting in Complex Systems: Co-Constructed Mechanisms for Water Management, by Jacques BROSSIER and Marc BENOIT
Feedback from Action in Complex Systems, by Michel ADAM
IV - Exercises of ingenium in the Complexes of “Education and Training”, “To Understand, That Is to Say, to Act”
The Sciences of ingenium: Epistemological Challenges, by Jean-Louis LE MOIGNE
Sciences of Design, Sciences of ingenium: “Who Needs Epistemology?”, by Philippe BOUDON
Teaching the New Engineering Sciences: Experiences, by Claude CREMET and Françoise ODIN
On the Experience of Creation: The “Functions of the Mind”, Round Table moderated by Jean-Louis LE MOIGNE, with Rosa INIESTA-MASMANO, Atsuo MORIMOTO, and Tatsuya TAGAMI
Disegno and Ingegno: The Two Sources of Complex Systems Modeling, by André DEMAILLY
The Education-Training Complex: Action, Research, Political Decision, and Social Regulation, by Frédérique LERBET-SERENI
Training: Embedding the Paths of Self-Organization in Society, by Teresa AMBRÓSIO
V - A New Beginning
What Complexity Today?, by Guilherme d'OLIVEIRA MARTINS
“Understanding Complexity”: A New Beginning, Debate moderated by Hervé BARREAU, Georges-Yves KERVERN, and Jean-Louis LE MOIGNE
The Spirit of the Valley Is the Spirit of Reliance: Action, Science, and Consciousness Constantly Flowing into One Another, by Edgar MORIN
Complexity theory emerged in the late 20th century as a transdisciplinary framework seeking to understand systems characterized by interconnectedness, non-linearity, and self-organization. Departing from reductionist paradigms that isolate variables, this approach emphasizes the dialogue between the observer and the observed and the integration of diverse fields of knowledge. *Understanding Complexity Epistemology and Pragmatics* addresses the distinction between restricted and general complexity, the role of modeling in representing dynamic systems, and the application of these ideas to fields ranging from cosmology and biology to social organization and urban planning.
The contributions gathered in this volume investigate how epistemological inquiry informs practical action, particularly through the lens of the sciences of ingenium and design. The text covers topics such as the development of new engineering sciences, the ethics of foresight, and the integration of self-organization into educational and political frameworks. Readers interested in the intersection of systems theory, philosophy, and social practice may find this collection relevant to their research on transdisciplinary methodologies.