Abstract

Different modes of thinking are associated with different possibilities for understanding and acting in the ‘complex world’ and to attempt to affect and manage change through a variety of different types of interventions, with different consequences and effects. 

A variety of modes of thinking (not always explicitly recognised), with different underlying worldviews, co-exist within the fuzzy boundaries of the broadly defined domain of Complexity Studies and its related or neighbour domains (e.g. systems science; cybernetics). This workshop is grounded in the idea that the complexity of our world, namely our social and ecological systems requires modes of thinking that are commensuraly congruent with their complexity. In order to manage this complexity it is necessary to manage the relation between different modes of thinking. The construction of better futures (for all) is dependent on the nature of the relations underlying the structure and dynamics of rich ecologies of knowledge and the modes of thinking that build them.

This workshop embraces the urgency of reflecting upon the possibilities and limitations afforded by different modes of thinking (in) Complexity and of building more complex and adaptive modes. Different modes of thinking are associated with different possibilities for understanding and acting in the ‘complex world’ and to attempt to affect and manage change through a variety of different types of interventions, with different consequences and effects. 

A variety of modes of thinking (not always explicitly recognised), with different underlying worldviews, co-exist within the fuzzy boundaries of the broadly defined domain of Complexity Studies and its related or neighbour domains (e.g. systems science; cybernetics). This workshop is grounded in the idea that the complexity of our world, namely our social and ecological systems requires modes of thinking that are commensuraly congruent with their complexity. In order to manage this complexity it is necessary to manage the relation between different modes of thinking. The construction of better futures (for all) is dependent on the nature of the relations underlying the structure and dynamics of rich ecologies of knowledge and the modes of thinking that build them.

This workshop embraces the urgency of reflecting upon the possibilities and limitations afforded by different modes of thinking (in) Complexity and of building more complex and adaptive modes. It adopts a collaborative and dialogical format, based on a methodology specifically designed to support complex relational dialogues and facilitate emergence (e.g. of new ideas; approaches; levels of understanding; solutions or approaches). This workshop aims at identifying key theoretical, empirical methodological and pragmatic challenges and questions pertaining to how we think, build, coordinate and practice different Modes of Thinking (in) Complexity.

COORDINATION | This workshop is an activity of the Building Foundations for Complex Thinking project

Organising Committee: Ana Teixeira de Melo¹ (Coord.), Leo Simon Dominic Caves², Carlos Gershenson^{3, 5}, Charbel El-Hani^{4 5}; Letícia Renault <sup>6

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_{¹ Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal; PI of the Building Foundations for Complex Thinking}

_{² Independent researcher, Portugal; Associate York Centre for Complex Systems Analysis; Collaborator of the Centre for Philosophy of Sciences of the University of Lisbon; University of the Azores, Portugal; Co-I of the Building Foundations for Complex Thinking}

_{³ Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico}

_{⁴ Federal University of Bahia, Brazil}

_{⁵ Guest Co-organisers invited by the Building Foundations for Complex Thinking project}

_{⁶ Independent Researcher; Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal;}