Is There a Definition of Complexity?

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Each of these measures is measuring a feature of a complex system, and it's not measuring complexities per se. The measure itself can't tell you whether the order that you've got, where it came from - it just tells you how much order there is. So, for example, if you imagine a string of digits, you can calculate, well, what's the order,. but it doesn't tell you where that string came from. And if you know that that came from a complex system then it's a kind of proxy measure for the complexity of that system. But it's notasuring complexity as such. It's measuring order produced by a complex system. Does this have a name?

Reality is a tricky thing. Is love real? What about the number 5? This is clearly a job for a philosopher, and James Ladyman is one of the world’s acknowledged experts. He and his collaborators have been championing a view known as “structural realism,” in which real things are those that reflect true, useful patterns in the underlying reality. We talk about that, but also about a couple of other subjects in the broad area of philosophy of science: the history and current status of materialism/physicalism, and the nature of complex systems. This is a deep one. Support Mindscape on Patreon or Paypal. James Ladyman obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Leeds, and is currently a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bristol. He has worked broadly within the philosophy of science, including issues of realism, empiricism, physicalism, complexity, and information. His book Everything Must Go (co-authored with Don Ross) has become an influential work on the relationship between metaphysics and science. Web page Everything Must Go Academia.edu page PhilPeople profile Conversation with Raymond Tallis Structural Realism at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.