Rules and Complex Systems

September 30, 2000 · Emergence Paul Cilliers Cilliers P. Rules and Complex Systems. Emergence: Complexity and Organization. 2000 Sep 30 [last modified: 2016 Nov 21]. Edition 1. doi: 10.emerg/10.17357.7ebe3f257be831cef34e80a1ff65dd36. A central philosophical problem, one that has concerned scientists as much as philosophers, is the relationship between our descriptions of the world and the world itself. This problem is present in one way or another in many different theoretical discourses: in discussions of the status of models and theories in science (instrumentalism, reductionism, realism, etc.), in theories of representation, theories of meaning, and in the realm of law and ethics.1 I do not want to propose a final solution to this problem, but in order to clarify the issue, I want to analyze one of the central notions in most of the discourses mentioned, namely, that of rules. More specifically, I want to investigate the use and the status of rules when we deal with complex phenomena like the brain, language, or social and cultural systems.2