Towards a complex conception of progress

Lundy, Craig (2022) Towards a complex conception of progress. The Sociological Review, 70 (2). pp. 264-280. ISSN 1467-954X

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Abstract / Description

For many decades, scholars working within the broad paradigm of complexity studies/theory have explored the nonlinear dynamics that contour physical and social systems. In doing so, radical theories that contest both Newtonian and neo-Darwinian understandings of reality have been posited, augmenting how we think about processes of change. But throughout these developments, the modern idea of progress has arguably remained insufficiently contested. This article seeks to show how the framework of complexity can offer conceptual resources for rethinking progress. Key characteristics of complexity are articulated and critically examined with the aim of pinpointing how they might contribute to a conception of progress that is worthy of the name yet divergent from its dominant ‘modern’ form.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	** From Crossref journal articles via Jisc Publications Router
Uncontrolled Keywords:	attractors; complexity; contingency; emergence; nonlinear; path-dependence; progress
Subjects:	300 Social sciences
Department:	School of Social Sciences and Professions
SWORD Depositor:	Pub Router
Depositing User:	Pub Router
Date Deposited:	11 Apr 2022 11:28
Last Modified:	27 May 2022 14:28
URI:	https://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/id/eprint/7408

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