From Complex System to Integrative Science

Abstract

AbstractThis paper aims to introduce my thought as an “anti”-Logocentrism. To begin with, I would like to point out two aspects of this theme. First, even if philosophical thinking is essentially based on logical form, it is sometimes exposed to illogicality. But this illogicality is meaningful. Second, it has to do with differences between Western and my thought. The former respects rational thinking and follows strictly formal logic. It is true that we cannot think without rationality, but when, for example, we deal with complex systems, we cannot follow the law of excluded middle because of the contradictory effects that coexist in interfaces which emerge in complex systems.In terms of complex systems, it is not acceptable to choose only one possibility and to deny the other. It is not uncommon to see such ambiguous situations, but we often overlook them. These situations are, however, not as disordered as we think, and they can be accepted as they actually are. I refer to such thinking as “passive thinking”. In this way, there are two types of philosophical thinking. One is rational thinking, and the other is passive thinking. The latter stays often in contradiction without following logical form, which occurs in interfaces in complex systems. In such cases, we cannot think rationally, because contradictory effects coexist there. Furthermore, we find there something whole new, namely, “emergent property”; that is just what passive thinking deals with. Since early times, Japanese have attached more importance to passive thinking.