Bridging the micro-macro divide: A new basis for social science
- Publication Type:
- Journal Article
- Citation:
- Human Relations, 2004, 57 (5), pp. 597 - 618
- Issue Date:
- 2004-05-01
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| Filename | Description | Size | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 2004002443.pdf | 1.7 MB |
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A 'pervasive' problem in the social sciences, referred to as the 'micro-to-macro problem' concerns our capacity to explain the relationship between the constitutive elements of social systems (people) and emergent phenomena resulting from their interaction (i.e. organizations, societies, economies). Without a capacity to explain this relationship there is, in effect, no substantive theory of sociality. In this article, we explore the potential of a synthesis between autopoietic and complexity theory for understanding social systems in a way that addresses this issue. It is argued that autopoietic theory provides a basis for understanding the characteristics of the micro-level agents that make up social systems - human individuals, whereas complexity theory provides a basis for understanding how these characteristics influence the range and type of macro-level phenomena that arise from their interaction. The synthesis proposed here provides the basis for a theory of sociality that deals consistently with the relationship between the micro- and macro-levels of social phenomena and their ontological status. This approach has the potential to re-unite current scientific oppositions and avoid unnecessary pluralism within social science.
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