Ton Jorg - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Ton Jorg
... The French philosopher and pedagogue Edgar Morin stated that Complexifying, that is humanizi... more ... The French philosopher and pedagogue Edgar Morin stated that Complexifying, that is humanizing ... their learning and development as basically emergent processes evolving through human interaction. ... complexity perspective accepts that reality is much more complex than we ...
Springer eBooks, 2011
In the preceding chapter we posed the general problem for science: what the world is about to ena... more In the preceding chapter we posed the general problem for science: what the world is about to enable our viewing and doing science. The English philosopher Roy Bhaskar has put this question in the following words: “What must the world be like for science to be possible?” For him this is the central problem for inventing a new science (Bhaskar 1975/2008, p. 23). He makes thereby a link with what he considers to be distinct domains: the domain of the real, of the actual and the domain of the empirical (p. 13).
Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies, 2016
Educational Research Review, 2008
Our call for comments on the Jörg et al. Paper on complexity science has led to the submission of... more Our call for comments on the Jörg et al. Paper on complexity science has led to the submission of many reactions from all over the world. Hoping to feed a real discussion on this important issue, we present the most solid reactions: Kumpulainen (Finland), Lovat (Australia), Alexander and Loyens (USA), Daly (UK), Pnevmatikos (Greece), Mayer (USA), Laevers and Heylen (Belgium), Leydesdorff (The Netherlands) and Human-Vögel (South Africa). Jörg et al. will be invited to continue this valuable discussion.
Springer eBooks, 2011
In this book, the aim is to develop the foundation of a new science of complexity (ScoC), with a ... more In this book, the aim is to develop the foundation of a new science of complexity (ScoC), with a new focus on what we take as ‘the complexity of real-world complexity’. Inspired by the work of Niklas Luhmann, the aim is to re-describe the foundation of our Social Sciences and Humanities. We argue that this should be the new focus for a new science within the scientific realms of our sciences with their different disciplines, i.e., within the Social Sciences and Humanities. This new science of complexity can be taken as a kind of complementary science, born out of dissatisfaction with the way sciences are ‘normally’ operating in our society, showing their incapacity to deal with real complexity as a serious topic of study. We think it is time to open the social sciences and to go beyond the habitual, limiting views of these sciences (Wallerstein et al. 1996). These social sciences have become entrapped in a kind of cul-de-sac in their viewing and doing science, as a result of the dominance of linear thinking in these sciences. Some speak about this critical situation in terms of a real crisis (e.g., Morin 2001). We have come to the conclusion that we desperately need innovation in our dealing with the reality of real-world complexity, to put an end to this entrapped situation. With the new science, we may put an end to the common trivialization of complex phenomena in the field of these sciences, such as the unfathomably complex human being. This reduction of complexity is very common within the social sciences, such as in the field of learning and education (cf. von Foerster 1993) but also in the field of brain research, with scientists being ‘prisoners of description’ (see, e.g., Edelman and Tononi 2000).
International Journal of Knowledge and Systems Science, Jul 1, 2013
The concept of innovation is hard to define and, consequently, difficult to put into practice. It... more The concept of innovation is hard to define and, consequently, difficult to put into practice. It is argued that the actual complexity of innovation is too much taken for granted. In this article the focus is on analyzing the very complexity of innovation, its dynamics and potential for practice. Innovation is taken as linked to creativity, by the processes of learning, thinking and knowing. Henceforth the complex dynamics of innovation is a time-related process. The ensemble of two partners and their interaction is the basic dynamic unit for innovation. Modeling this unit within the new framework of complexity shows innovation to be a (self-) generative kind of process, depending on the context with its conditions. These may be called “the conditions of possibility for innovation”. These conditions, which are closely linked to facilitating the quality of interaction and relationships between the partners in interaction, within a community of interaction, may be shown to unravel innovation as a nonlinear generative process with potential nonlinear effects over time. Innovation is shown to be a complex process at both the individual and the collective level. The complexity perspective taken here shows the new way of thinking in complexity about the complex nature of innovation. Organizing complexity is the key for generating potential nonlinear effects of learning, thinking and knowing as emergent effects, thriving on human interaction. So, innovation is thriving on complexity, which, in turn, is thriving on interaction within generative relationships in communities of interaction. To describe how complexity may be ‘at work’ in organizations, and to organize it in a more successful way, a different framing of complexity and a corresponding new language of complexity is urgently needed, to turn complexity into effective complexity within complex organizations.
Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity in Education, Jul 30, 2011
... 237 as it decodes reality."(Pinar, 2006, p. x) We are able, now, to rewrite the code by ... more ... 237 as it decodes reality."(Pinar, 2006, p. x) We are able, now, to rewrite the code by 'inventing'a new language for that new ... 238 Bates, E., Elman, JL, Johnson, MH, Karmiloff-Smith,, A., and Plunkett, K.(1998) Innateness and emergentism", In: Bechtel, W. and Graham, G.(Eds.) ...
This contribution is about the opening of a new perspective on education. This possibility is bas... more This contribution is about the opening of a new perspective on education. This possibility is based on new thinking in complexity about the role of complexity in education. The focus is on understanding generative complexity as self-potentiating; that is, on how complexity is actually generated in the real world. Generative complexity offers the possibility of linking complexity to the concept of transition in “the transitory child.” This concept may be linked to the concept of the so-called Zone of Generativity, and be expanded to the Space of Generativity as a multidimensional, dynamic state hyperspace. The challenge is to show how these concepts may be linked to the opening and enlarging of new spaces of possibility for learning and development in education. New ways of thinking are needed to understand the generative complexity involved. This calls for rethinking the concepts of interaction, causality, and the unit of study. It is urgently needed to become explanatory about the nature of (self-) generative principles and (self-) generative mechanisms, being operative in complex generative processes of generative learning and development. Generative learning and the achievement of individual and collective generativity may be viewed as thriving on the full generative power of interaction.
Springer eBooks, 2011
Inspired by the original thoughts of Thomas Kuhn (1970), we believe that crises are “a necessary ... more Inspired by the original thoughts of Thomas Kuhn (1970), we believe that crises are “a necessary precondition for the emergence of novel theories” (p. 77). To develop new theories, we first need to become aware that scientific theories are not mere reflections of nature.
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity in Education, 2009
In this contribution the focus is on sketching a programmatic view of thinking in complexity abou... more In this contribution the focus is on sketching a programmatic view of thinking in complexity about learning and development. This kind of thinking goes beyond linear thinking. The new thinking in complexity about a dynamic complex reality may enable us to build a new science of learning and education, which does not take the nonlinear complex reality for granted but regards it as "real": a science with a framework that does not exist yet. A new vision on learning is presented which takes the concept of interaction as a key concept, which may be linked with the notion of dynamic complexity. Thinking in complexity has its focus on "that which is interwoven". Learning and development through interaction may thus be viewed as a way of co-creating ourselves within a web of reciprocal relationships with the other. This co-creation may be described as a complex of self-generative, self-sustaining processes of mutual "bootstrapping" with potentially nonlinear effects over time. Modelling learning this way, may show learning to be a potentially nonlinear phenomenon within a new reality as the domain of possibilities and potentialities of learning. The modelling of such learning as "bootstrapping," and the concomitant effects on both partners in the interaction, shows these very possibilities and potentialities of learning in their humanly connected spaces of possibility. It demonstrates the very truth of Vygotsky's adage that "it is through others that we develop into ourselves." Based on his thoughts, we are able to develop a new view of the complex nonlinear reality of learning and education, with learners as potentially nonlinear human beings.
... The French philosopher and pedagogue Edgar Morin stated that Complexifying, that is humanizi... more ... The French philosopher and pedagogue Edgar Morin stated that Complexifying, that is humanizing ... their learning and development as basically emergent processes evolving through human interaction. ... complexity perspective accepts that reality is much more complex than we ...
Springer eBooks, 2011
In the preceding chapter we posed the general problem for science: what the world is about to ena... more In the preceding chapter we posed the general problem for science: what the world is about to enable our viewing and doing science. The English philosopher Roy Bhaskar has put this question in the following words: “What must the world be like for science to be possible?” For him this is the central problem for inventing a new science (Bhaskar 1975/2008, p. 23). He makes thereby a link with what he considers to be distinct domains: the domain of the real, of the actual and the domain of the empirical (p. 13).
Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies, 2016
Educational Research Review, 2008
Our call for comments on the Jörg et al. Paper on complexity science has led to the submission of... more Our call for comments on the Jörg et al. Paper on complexity science has led to the submission of many reactions from all over the world. Hoping to feed a real discussion on this important issue, we present the most solid reactions: Kumpulainen (Finland), Lovat (Australia), Alexander and Loyens (USA), Daly (UK), Pnevmatikos (Greece), Mayer (USA), Laevers and Heylen (Belgium), Leydesdorff (The Netherlands) and Human-Vögel (South Africa). Jörg et al. will be invited to continue this valuable discussion.
Springer eBooks, 2011
In this book, the aim is to develop the foundation of a new science of complexity (ScoC), with a ... more In this book, the aim is to develop the foundation of a new science of complexity (ScoC), with a new focus on what we take as ‘the complexity of real-world complexity’. Inspired by the work of Niklas Luhmann, the aim is to re-describe the foundation of our Social Sciences and Humanities. We argue that this should be the new focus for a new science within the scientific realms of our sciences with their different disciplines, i.e., within the Social Sciences and Humanities. This new science of complexity can be taken as a kind of complementary science, born out of dissatisfaction with the way sciences are ‘normally’ operating in our society, showing their incapacity to deal with real complexity as a serious topic of study. We think it is time to open the social sciences and to go beyond the habitual, limiting views of these sciences (Wallerstein et al. 1996). These social sciences have become entrapped in a kind of cul-de-sac in their viewing and doing science, as a result of the dominance of linear thinking in these sciences. Some speak about this critical situation in terms of a real crisis (e.g., Morin 2001). We have come to the conclusion that we desperately need innovation in our dealing with the reality of real-world complexity, to put an end to this entrapped situation. With the new science, we may put an end to the common trivialization of complex phenomena in the field of these sciences, such as the unfathomably complex human being. This reduction of complexity is very common within the social sciences, such as in the field of learning and education (cf. von Foerster 1993) but also in the field of brain research, with scientists being ‘prisoners of description’ (see, e.g., Edelman and Tononi 2000).
International Journal of Knowledge and Systems Science, Jul 1, 2013
The concept of innovation is hard to define and, consequently, difficult to put into practice. It... more The concept of innovation is hard to define and, consequently, difficult to put into practice. It is argued that the actual complexity of innovation is too much taken for granted. In this article the focus is on analyzing the very complexity of innovation, its dynamics and potential for practice. Innovation is taken as linked to creativity, by the processes of learning, thinking and knowing. Henceforth the complex dynamics of innovation is a time-related process. The ensemble of two partners and their interaction is the basic dynamic unit for innovation. Modeling this unit within the new framework of complexity shows innovation to be a (self-) generative kind of process, depending on the context with its conditions. These may be called “the conditions of possibility for innovation”. These conditions, which are closely linked to facilitating the quality of interaction and relationships between the partners in interaction, within a community of interaction, may be shown to unravel innovation as a nonlinear generative process with potential nonlinear effects over time. Innovation is shown to be a complex process at both the individual and the collective level. The complexity perspective taken here shows the new way of thinking in complexity about the complex nature of innovation. Organizing complexity is the key for generating potential nonlinear effects of learning, thinking and knowing as emergent effects, thriving on human interaction. So, innovation is thriving on complexity, which, in turn, is thriving on interaction within generative relationships in communities of interaction. To describe how complexity may be ‘at work’ in organizations, and to organize it in a more successful way, a different framing of complexity and a corresponding new language of complexity is urgently needed, to turn complexity into effective complexity within complex organizations.
Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity in Education, Jul 30, 2011
... 237 as it decodes reality."(Pinar, 2006, p. x) We are able, now, to rewrite the code by ... more ... 237 as it decodes reality."(Pinar, 2006, p. x) We are able, now, to rewrite the code by 'inventing'a new language for that new ... 238 Bates, E., Elman, JL, Johnson, MH, Karmiloff-Smith,, A., and Plunkett, K.(1998) Innateness and emergentism", In: Bechtel, W. and Graham, G.(Eds.) ...
This contribution is about the opening of a new perspective on education. This possibility is bas... more This contribution is about the opening of a new perspective on education. This possibility is based on new thinking in complexity about the role of complexity in education. The focus is on understanding generative complexity as self-potentiating; that is, on how complexity is actually generated in the real world. Generative complexity offers the possibility of linking complexity to the concept of transition in “the transitory child.” This concept may be linked to the concept of the so-called Zone of Generativity, and be expanded to the Space of Generativity as a multidimensional, dynamic state hyperspace. The challenge is to show how these concepts may be linked to the opening and enlarging of new spaces of possibility for learning and development in education. New ways of thinking are needed to understand the generative complexity involved. This calls for rethinking the concepts of interaction, causality, and the unit of study. It is urgently needed to become explanatory about the nature of (self-) generative principles and (self-) generative mechanisms, being operative in complex generative processes of generative learning and development. Generative learning and the achievement of individual and collective generativity may be viewed as thriving on the full generative power of interaction.
Springer eBooks, 2011
Inspired by the original thoughts of Thomas Kuhn (1970), we believe that crises are “a necessary ... more Inspired by the original thoughts of Thomas Kuhn (1970), we believe that crises are “a necessary precondition for the emergence of novel theories” (p. 77). To develop new theories, we first need to become aware that scientific theories are not mere reflections of nature.
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Understanding complex systems, 2021
Complicity: An International Journal of Complexity in Education, 2009
In this contribution the focus is on sketching a programmatic view of thinking in complexity abou... more In this contribution the focus is on sketching a programmatic view of thinking in complexity about learning and development. This kind of thinking goes beyond linear thinking. The new thinking in complexity about a dynamic complex reality may enable us to build a new science of learning and education, which does not take the nonlinear complex reality for granted but regards it as "real": a science with a framework that does not exist yet. A new vision on learning is presented which takes the concept of interaction as a key concept, which may be linked with the notion of dynamic complexity. Thinking in complexity has its focus on "that which is interwoven". Learning and development through interaction may thus be viewed as a way of co-creating ourselves within a web of reciprocal relationships with the other. This co-creation may be described as a complex of self-generative, self-sustaining processes of mutual "bootstrapping" with potentially nonlinear effects over time. Modelling learning this way, may show learning to be a potentially nonlinear phenomenon within a new reality as the domain of possibilities and potentialities of learning. The modelling of such learning as "bootstrapping," and the concomitant effects on both partners in the interaction, shows these very possibilities and potentialities of learning in their humanly connected spaces of possibility. It demonstrates the very truth of Vygotsky's adage that "it is through others that we develop into ourselves." Based on his thoughts, we are able to develop a new view of the complex nonlinear reality of learning and education, with learners as potentially nonlinear human beings.