Abstract:
A 'pervasive' problem in the social sciences, referred to as the 'microto-
macro problem' concerns our capacity to explain the relationship
between the constitutive elements of social systems (people) and
emergent phenomena resulting from their interaction (i.e, organizations,
societies. economies). Without a capacity to explain this
relationship there is in effect, no substantive theory of sociality. In
this article, we explore the potential of a synthesis between autopoietic
and complexity theory for understanding social systems In a
way that addresses this issue. It is argued that autopoietic theory
provides a basis for understanding the characteristics of the microlevel
agents that make up social systems - human individuals,
whereas complexity theory provides a basis for understanding how
these characteristics influence the range and type of macro-level
phenomena that arise from their interaction. The synthesis proposed
here provides the basis for a theory of sociality that deals consistently
with the relationship between the micro- and macro-levels of social
phenomena and their ontological status. This approach has the
potential to re-unite current scientific oppositions and avoid unnecessary
pluralism within social science.
