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You are hereby invited to our
sixth "Evolution, Complexity and
Cognition (ECCO)" seminar of
2005:
Emergence of Social Organisations: From Stability
to Dynamism
by
Erden
Göktepe
(ECCO, VUB; International Relations Department,
Galatasaray University)
Place: room 3C204 (building
C, 3rd floor), VUB campus
Oefenplein
Time: Friday, March 11, at
17:30 h.
Abstract:
"How do social
organisations emerge? How are they structured? How do they adapt to
their changing environment?" These questions seem to be crucial
to understand the change of social structure in our rapidly
"globalising" world. Instead of theories based on
relatively stable structures, it seems necessary to construct a
theory based on dynamic inputs that create interactions. The process
of structural evolution under particular conditions (more than one
agent - scarce resources) will be presented according to the basic
dynamics of "differentiation - integration". It will be
argued that the more interactions become complex, the more social
structures evolve from a rigid, hierarchical structure towards a
network structure. As a result, the more the social system becomes
complex, the more the delegation of "control" to various
agents will increase in the organisation. The process will be
illustrated with historical and contemporary examples.
This presentation
consists of a brainstorming session rather than a concrete model
proposal.
ECCO seminar
programme following weeks
- Laetitia De Jaegher: The need for
new systems of governance in a complex, changing society
- Klaas Chielens: Empirical measurement of memetic selection criteria
- Nathalie Gontier: A systems/symbiotic view of evolution
- Nick Deschacht: Complexity Theory and Marxism
ECCO seminars normally take place
each Friday at 17h30 in room 3C204 of the VUB Campus Etterbeek.
Everyone interested is welcome, although the largest group of
attendants are usually ECCO researchers. The seminars are very
interactive, with small groups (about 8-10 people). The intention is
to discuss in depth the research being proposed, and to look for
interdisciplinary connections with other ECCO-related themes.
Seminars last about two hours, after which the remaining participants
go to take a drink or a snack in the Opinio Café on the campus, to
continue the discussion in a more relaxed setting.
--
Francis Heylighen
"Evolution, Complexity and Cognition" research group
Free University of Brussels
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
Francis Heylighen
"Evolution, Complexity and Cognition" research group
Free University of Brussels
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
