The Theory Of Knowledge Of The Sciences Of Complexity

The sciences of complexity have been being very important since they came into being. Some people say, "the 21st century will be the century of the sciences of complexity." Other people claims,"the nations and people who master the new sciences of complexity will become the ecomomic, cultural, and political superpowers of the 21st century." Therefore, they can promote development of contemporary theory of knowledge, studying philosophy of the sciences of complexity, especially their theory of knowledge, and clarifying properties of knowledge of the sciences of complexity.This dissertation consists of 4 chapters. In the thesis, I will focus on 4 main themes of theory of knowledge of the sciences of complexity.Chapter 1 discusses and analyses the objects of study of the sciences of complexity -complexity and complex systems. We conclude that meaning of "complexity and complex systems" is obscure. Only when we select measuring criteria, we could explain what complexity and complex systems are.In chapter 2, we demarcate the sciences of complexity by methodology. Nonreductionism or holism is a criterion by which the sciences of complexity are distinguished from other sciences. In addition, chapter 2 differentiates and analyses the theory of complexity, complexity reseach and systems science. Finally, we elucidate meaning of some concepts in the sciences of complexity.Chapter 3 deals with the problem-how knowledge of the sciences of complexity grows. We compare many different notions about development of the sciences of complexity , divide history of the sciences of complexity into three phrases-studying being, studying becoming, and synthetical studying.Chapter 4 provides external perspective on the sciences of complexity. We compare them with postmodern sciences, and argue that the unity of science is not possible in the form of the sciences of complexity. Many of the most profound achievements of the 20th century science-the theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, Godel's theorem, chaos theory-prescribe the limits of knowledge. Moreover, the sciences of complexity expose their limits of knowledge.