From Simple to Complex and Ultra-complex Systems: A Paradigm Shift Towards Non-Abelian Systems Dynamics

The development of systems theory has been so far remarkably uneven: phases of tumultuous development arousing vivid expectations have been followed by periods of stagnation if not utter regression. Moreover, within the different sciences, the theory of systems is customarily seen and presented in rather different ways. The differences are often so remarkable that one may ask whether there is in fact anything like ―the‖ theory of systems. Thirdly, it is worth mentioning that more often than not a number of conceptual confusions continue to pester the development of system theory. Remarkably enough, during the past few decades the systems theory has reproduced in its own way the same divide and the same attitude that has characterized recent mainstream philosophy, namely the overwhelming prevalence assigned to the epistemological interpretation to their object as opposed to the ontologically-oriented analysis of their object. According to the epistemological reading, system‘s boundaries are in the eye of the observer; it is the observer that literally creates the system by establishing her windowing of attention. On the other hand, the ontological reading claims that the systems under observation are essentially independent from the observer, which eventually discover, or observe, them. Most confusions can be dealt with by distinguishing two aspects of the interactions between observing and observed systems. The thesis that knowing a system, as required e.g. by any scientific development, implies appropriate interactions between an observing and an observed system, does not mean that existence or the nature of the observed system depends on the observing system, notwithstanding the significant perturbations introduced by measurements on microscopic, observed quantum systems. 1