Hierarchy Theory; The Challenge of Complex Systems.

By Howard Hunt Pattee

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080760674X
• ISBN13: 9780807606742
• Release Date: January 1973
• Publisher: George Braziller
• Length: 156 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent.

As in any edited volume the quality of the chapters varies. I found H. Simon's chapter excellent and it alone justified the (modest) purchase price. As a social scientist and a geographer I found value in the book even though most examples are far from my specific field of research.

Foundations of Hierarchy Theory

Understanding the nature and dynamics of complex, hierarchically organized systems is crucial to understanding the origin of life and living systems. This 1973 collection contains key papers by some of the founders of hierarchy theory: The Nobel laureate, Herbert A. Simon's original paper on "The Organization of Complex Systems"; James Bonner's "Hierarchical Control Programs in Biological Development"; Howard H. Pattee's "The Physical Basis and Origin of Hierarchical Control" and "Postscript: Unsolved Problems and Potential Applications of Hierarchy Theories"; Richard Levins' "The Limits of Complexity", and the Clifford Grobstein's "Hierarchical Order and Neogenesis". Although Herbert Simon's fame is in theoretical economics and management, his thinking to understand hierarchy was an important contributor to this success. Howard Pattee's work should be much better known than it is. Because his work connects the disparate fields of biology, epistemology and ontology at a biophysical level it has not been seen to be central to any of these fields. However, from working through Pattee's many papers in "biosemiotics" and hierarchy theory, I can attest that his works should be key readings in genetics and behavioral biology. For anyone interested in hierarchy theory, this is where you should begin. Most of the papers are still amongst the clearest statements available the fundamental importance and roles of hierarchical organization in living things.