Examples of Complex Thinking

In general, the Complex thinking it is the most difficult, most demanding way of reasoning and that throws conclusions deeper. It is a concept used in various contexts, especially in the work of the French philosopher and sociologist Edgar Morin (1921-), who defined it as the ability to relate or dialogue two or more different dimensions of reality, resignifying the sense of "complex" in these contexts.

Normally we think that something "complex" is simply something difficult, but etymologically this term comes from the Latin complexus, fruit of the union of the prefix with- (“next to”) and the verb plethora (“interlace” or “braid”), so that the complex, in the sense in which Morin understands it, is that which is interwoven, interconnected or intertwined.

That is why complex thinking is necessarily transdisciplinary and holistic, and instead of promoting reductionist explanations, simple and totalizing, rather it proposes reflective, multidimensional thought strategies that allow complex solutions to be found. problems. For this, it is based on some fundamental principles such as:

Complex thought seeks to find the unsuspected links between the different dimensions of reality, and at the same time identifies them, distinguishes them, but does not isolate them from one another. Hence, it is known as an "ecologicalized" thought, that is, it studies its problems in its habitat or ecosystem. In this, it differs from simple thinking, which annuls diversity and bets instead on a single, correct, totalizing response.

Hence, the application of complex thinking to the problems of everyday life always starts from the evaluation and identification of the context of the problem, to incorporate as many elements as possible into the system, and approach it from different perspectives, responding to the complexity of the problem with the complexity of the thought. For this, it is important to understand problems as systems that are, at the same time, a unity and a diversity of parts, that is, that they are at the same time “more and less than the sum of their parts”.

examples of complex thinking

The following are some examples of complex thinking:

1. Contemporary physicists no longer consider the cosmos as something stable and ordered, but as a system diversity of forces and matter in continuous change and movement, structuring and disintegrating at the same weather.
2. Translations are often seen as “rescuing” a given meaning from one language to another, as if nothing was lost in the process. But from the point of view of complex thought, it is at the same time the interference of interpretations and translator's judgments in the translated work, so that when reading the translation one reads both the author and the translator.
3. Life and death are normally considered polar opposites, when in fact they are intertwined: one can only die if you are alive first, and the existence of death is what distinguishes living beings from matter inanimate So these are two complementary concepts as well as mutually exclusive.
4. The low productivity of a business department, according to complex thinking, cannot be solved only attending to the internal dynamics of the department and ignoring the rest of its ecosystem corporate. Therefore, it must be approached from a multiple perspective that takes into account its relationship with the other units.
5. All living beings have the same basic genetic structure (DNA), made up of the same materials, which is repeated with each cell division like a mold. However, there are also variations and mutations that allow introducing variety to the species. Therefore, order and chaos, preservation and continuous change, individuality and the species coexist in the same genetic system.

References:

• "Complex Thinking" on Online Philosophical Encyclopedia.
• “Edgar Morin and the thought of complexity” by Andrews José Paiva in the Libertador Experimental Pedagogical University (Venezuela).
• “Complex thought” by Lucía Solís in United in Diversity.
• "Introduction to complex thinking" (video) in Multiversity Real World Edgar Morin.

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