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Paul Cilliers Quotes

d. 2011 South Africa

Friedrich Paul Cilliers (25 December 1956 – July 31, 2011) was a South-African philosopher and complexity researcher.

South Africa
Philosophers

Random Paul Cilliers quote

6 quotes

A certain theory of representation implies a certain theory of meaning - and meaning is what we live by.

Complexity and Postmodernism (1998)

In order to constitute a complex system, the elements have to interact, and this interaction must be dynamic.

Complexity and Postmodernism (1998)

There has to be a constant flow of energy to maintain the organization of the system and to ensure its survival. Equilibrium is another word for death.

Complexity and Postmodernism (1998)

The acknowledgement of complexity, however, certainly does not lead to the conclusion that anything goes.

Complexity and Postmodernism (1998)

At the heart of the matter... our technologies have become more powerful than our theories... We can do with technology what we cannot do with science.

Complexity and Postmodernism (1998)

Each element in the system is ignorant of the behaviour of the system as a whole, it responds only to information that is available to it locally... If each element 'knew' what was happening to the system as a whole, all of the complexity would have to be present in that element.

Complexity and Postmodernism (1998)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Paul Cilliers (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.