Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science - No. 2(1) 2012 13 SCIENCE OF COMPLEXITY AND THE METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS RAISED by Tran Quang Thai1 ABSTRACT The article generally introduces the history and role of science of complexity in contemporary scientific research, and then raises methodological problems regarding science of complexity. From the standpoint of marxist methodology, the article comes to make initial related comments. Since the 90s of the XX century, created a huge turning point in the history science has made considerable progress of human civilization. It was the first time in the far-reaching and going into the for man to find a way to perceive the physical world, giving mankind the new world by his power of "mundane" thinking awareness, and posing new problems and reasoning, which was previously in terms of methodology, of which, only a desire to be clamped together by notably the emergence and spreading chains of religion. Since then, science development of complex science (science has continued to grow strongly in areas of complexity). In this article, we present of research on nature such as mechanics, an overview of this field of science and physics, astronomy,.etc... Accordingly, the raise methodological issues thereby. scientific method is proposed and perfected According to the common on the mechanistic thinking5 by Newton understanding, modern science rooted in and Descartes, Laplace’s6 determinism, the era of Enlightenment in the seventeenth mathematical calculus (Newton and century, beginning with the discovery of Leibniz), and logical analogy of form. Kepler2, Galileio3 and Newton4 of the laws Thanks to the scientific methods, people of physical motion. Besides, practically, have built up the mathematical model the industrial revolution has created a consistent with physical reality correctly, strong leverage for the development of so that scientific knowledge is produced as science. The emergence of science has it is true about the natural world. 1 PhD. in Philosophy, Dong Thap University 2 Johannes Kepler (1571 - 1630), a German, an important face in the scientific revolution. He is famous for the laws of plan- etary motion through the astronomy projects such as new (Astronomia nova), world harmony (Harmonice Mundi) and textbook Summary of Copernican astronomy. 3 Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642), an Italian astronomer, physicist, mathematician and philosopher, who played a key role in the scientific revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescopes and other astronomical observations. Galileo is considered the "father of the observations of modern astronomy", the "father of modern physics", and "father of modern science." 4 Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727), a British physicist, astronomer, philosopher, mathematician, theologian and alchemist. His greatest work "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) consid- ered the foundation of classical mechanics, has dominated the conception of physical science during the 3 next century. 5 The objects, phenomena and processes in the world are machines. 6 According to Laplace, at a certain point, if we know the position and velocity of all objects in the universe, we can calculate their status at any time in the past and future. 14 Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science - No. 2(1) 2012 From the mid-nineteenth to the Upon the current knowledge, the twentieth century, the scientific methods dynamical systems are out of equilibrium were deployed more in the research state, and nonlinear which are important areas of life, economics, politics, society, in the universe. We may indicate some literature, poetry, art, with ideas of common complex systems, for example, those existing rules governing human economic system, the stock market society similar to laws dominating system, climate system, social system the physical world, the nature. For of organisms, seismic system, transport example in the field of economics, many system, information system, environment economic theories have a bold impact system, system of swirling flow, system of on economic development and human diseases, immune system, dynamic river society throughout the past century. For system, geological system, the system of a bit more convincing, more theories of pigmentation on animal fur, the circulatory society and humanity have applied the system of the heart, the genetic system, scientific methods. Overall, the spirit of and so on. science is that the objects always contain The characteristic to be considered attributes such as balance, stability, most important in complex systems is the symmetry, deterministic, and linear. The phenomenon of sudden birth (emergence). strong development of sophisticated, It is a phenomenon that produces the modern research technology enables us laws, forms, new order from the collective to deepen, expand, reach out, penetrate effects of the interactions between the deeper into the endless vast world of components of the system. Especially, the material. Consequently, from the late emergence is not an intrinsic property of XX to XXI century, science has in turn the components, that is the nature of the made many new areas of research, which system to be viewed globally. For example, highlights the complex science. temperature, and the laws of gases – these Complex science is the science of concepts are meaningless if we only complex systems. A system is said to be consider a molecule, which only has a complex if it contains elements interacting meaning for a system of molecules. Or, an with one another, to show the nature and organization of ant populations, each ant the behavior which can not be obviously only acts according to specific rules, but figured out from the interaction of the an ant society as a whole behave according components. Scientists have long had to rules of emergence manifesting a high difficulty studying the phase transition, order. Currently, the social scientists and such as the phenomenon of boiling water, information technologists are studying in particular, and in general the systems the phenomenon of self-organization of containing many elements, or components. ant society with the hope to find out what Today science has created many effective could be applicable in the field of human tools such as thermodynamics, statistical society. Or, in case of traffic jam, each mechanics to study the system in individual with a vehicle has a plan for his equilibrium. The equilibrium systems journey, but many individuals involved are not completely complex systems. in traffic jam lead to an emergence which However, the study of equilibrium systems is not dependent on individual plans. will create more favorable conditions for Similarly, we can see the attributes such as the study of complex systems through "conscious", "creative" in human thinking their concepts and ideas. are the emergence of nervous system cells. Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science - No. 2(1) 2012 15 The material world contains large birth to a "new science" – complex science, numbers of complex systems such as and they predict that it will be the science galaxies, solar system, planets, ecosystems, of the XXI century. Even the American organisms, cells, atoms, particles and physicist Heinz Pagels (1939-1988) in quarks. Each separate system has its own "The Dreams of Reason: The Computer laws. The building of an overview, unified and The Rise of Sciences of Complexity" theory of complex systems is the goal of predicted that: "... the countries and peoples complex science. that master the new science of complexity The complex systems exist in a will become the economic superpower, state of the boundary between chaos and culture, and politics of the next century." order, so the study of complex systems It can be said that the scientific research in often need to chaos theory7. This theory recent years has started authentication for describes the method used to describe the that expectation. Many research areas of mode of behavior of a nonlinear dynamical nature and society show that the systems system characterized by sensitivity to of nature and society are complex systems. initial conditions. Consequently, its mode The natural world and society appear out in of behaviour seems to be chaotic, even front of our eyes now more complex than though its dynamics is deterministically what was envisioned earlier. This fact has described by differential equations. spurred the birth of a field of new research Meteorologist Edward Lorenz8 used with - complex science. This science studies the model of calculation for meteorology and phenomenon and the behavior of complex found that, when initial conditions change systems in many different fields, including a little, then the results diverge from each first of all such issues as relationships, the other significantly. Obviously, it is difficult effects of nonlinearity for chaotic behavior; to know exactly the initial conditions the behavior of the system in the chaotic of nonlinear dynamical systems, so it is state, non-equilibrium; the self-organizing difficult to accurately grasp its final results. ability of the system; the ability to emerge This is known as the “butterfly effect”, a of the system – which is considered the key butterfly beating its wings in the Amazon to understanding the nature of innovation could cause major storms in New York. in the evolution of all systems, from Along with the birth of cybernetics9, biological