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Books like On Complexity

Loved On Complexity by Edgar Morin? Here are 7 books with the same pull, and why each one fits.

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7 books

  1. 1Steps to an Ecology of Mind

    Steps to an Ecology of Mind

    Gregory Bateson

    A collection of essays that treats mind, communication and living systems as patterns of relation rather than separate objects, much as Morin does.

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  2. 2The Web of Life

    The Web of Life

    Fritjof Capra

    An accessible account of living systems as networks, linking biology, ecology and social thought in the way complex thought does.

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  3. 3The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

    The Structure of Scientific Revolutions

    Thomas S. Kuhn

    A classic study of how scientific frameworks change, which gives useful context for Morin's critique of simplifying methods.

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  4. 4Gödel, Escher, Bach

    Gödel, Escher, Bach

    Douglas R. Hofstadter

    A wide-ranging book about self-reference and levels of description that rewards readers interested in how parts produce wholes.

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  5. 5The Sciences of the Artificial

    The Sciences of the Artificial

    Herbert Alexander Simon

    Examines complex systems and bounded rationality, offering a practical counterpart to Morin's theoretical account of complexity.

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  6. 6At Home in the Universe

    At Home in the Universe

    Stuart Kauffman

    Argues that self-organization and order are built into nature, connecting biology and complexity in a way that complements Morin's arguments.

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  7. 7The Dialectical Biologist

    The Dialectical Biologist

    Richard C. Lewontin

    Argues against simple biological determinism and for seeing organisms and environments as interacting wholes, a view close to complex thought.

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