events, but not with certainty. The best that could be done was to make some
assertion about their probability.
Obviously this has implications for the question of causation in making and
interpreting law. While the theories and laws of psychology have some
relevance for causation as it is involved in making and interpreting law,
typically they do not encompass or account for the complete picture. A more
realistic approach, therefore, may be to combine specific insights from
psychology with the type of approach that was proposed by Weber.
Theories of Complex Behaviour
Some theories address complex behaviour. These are worth noting because
law can often operate in a complex way.
Since complex systems exhibit
complex behaviour
to understand complex behaviour it is necessary to
understand the nature of complex behaviour.
Complexity is studied in the field that is labelled complex systems. One can
see some of the notions of complex systems in the writing of Gottfried Liebniz
(1646-1716). In modern times, the critical works that introduced it as a defined
field of study were publication by Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972) on
general systems theory between 1945 and 1951.
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Our discussion is in two parts. First we explain the nature of complex systems
to enable the reader to understand them. Then we explain how to change a
complex system
Complex Systems: How to Understand Them
Introduction
Terminology
A complex system is variously describes as the subject (of a discussion), a
network, a system or a web. A complex system is composed of interrelated
items that are variously described as elements or components. Points of
contact between the system and its external environment can be described as
couplings or interactions.
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von Bertalanffy, Ludwig (1945) Zu einer allgemeinen Systemlehre,
Blätter für
deutsche Philosophie, 3/4. (Extract in: Biologia Generalis, 19 (1949), 139-164; von
Bertalanffy, Ludwig 1950 An Outline of General System Theory, British Journal for the
Philosophy of Science 1, p.139-164; von Bertalanffy, Ludwig (1951) General system
theory - A new approach to unity of science (Symposium), Human Biology, Dec 1951,
Vol. 23, p. 303-361. Von Bertalanffy’s wrote up
his work on systems theory in a
book General Systems Theory (1968).
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