Front cover image for Thinking in complexity : the computional dynamics of matter, mind, and mankind

Thinking in complexity : the computional dynamics of matter, mind, and mankind

"The theory of nonlinear, complex systems has become by now a proven problem-solving approach in the natural sciences. And it is now also recognized that many if not most of our social, ecological, economical and political problems are essentially of a global, complex and nonlinear nature. And it is now further accepted that any holistic perspective of the human mind and brain can hardly be achieved by any other approach. In this wide-ranging, scholarly but very concise treatment, physicist, computer scientist and philosopher Klaus Mainzer discusses, in essentially nontechnical language, the common framework behind these ideas and challenges. Emphasis is given to the evolution of new structures in natural and cultural systems and we are led to see clearly how the new integrative approach can give insights not available from traditional reductionistic methods. The fifth edition enlarges and revises almost all sections and supplements an entirely new chapter on the complexity of economic systems."--Jacket
eBook, English, ©2007
5th rev. and enl. ed View all formats and editions
Springer, Berlin, ©2007
History
1 online resource (xviii, 482 pages) : illustrations
9783540722274, 9783540722281, 3540722270, 3540722289
316688547
Introduction: from linear to nonlinear thinking
Complex systems and the evolution of matter
Complex systems and the evolution of life
Complex systems and the evolution of mind-brain
Complex systems and the evolution of computability
Complex systems and the evolution of artificial life and intelligence
Complex systems and the evolution of economics
Complex systems and the evolution of human culture and society
Epilogue on future, science and ethics