Chapter 4 – Complex Adaptive Hierarchical Systems

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on an emerging coherent theory of CAHSystems. They have both intrinsic and instrumental values. The orientation of First-World societies is pragmatic, which must be tempered by the awareness of the critical importance of a new-knowledge generation, which cannot be judged practically. Old knowledge can be applied with inevitable results when human adaptability becomes increasingly impoverished. The area of CAHSystems represents new ground in science as 21st Century begins to unfold. Pragmatically, a turn to CAHSystems is motivated by the needs to integrate and make sense of the information overload to grapple with complexly interwoven environmental, political, economic, social, and ethical issues that span huge scales of space and time. The development and focus of this theory is still in its infancy and must be nurtured, but the pressing need to discover and integrate complex systems knowledge argues for its continuing promotion and coordination. Few tools are available to grapple with systems, and one of these is interdisciplinary modeling, which represents a potentially powerful means for integrating observation, theory, and practice. Development of CAHSystems Theory and modeling are essential if humanity is realized as a balanced and sustainable condition within the frames of healthy, diverse, and viable ecosystems across the globe.