Complexity Explorer Santa Few Institute

SOCIO-BEHAVIORAL SYSTEMS

Disintegration of Societies

Human societies constantly change at many levels, from individuals to communities and nation states. Throughout history, and at present, societies become more innovative, more integrated, and more cooperative on some levels, while on others they become more inert, more polarized, and more belligerent. To understand and perhaps even predict these trends and their consequences, we need to capture the complex interplay of underlying cognitive, social, and institutional mechanisms – by integrating theoretical, modeling, and empirical investigations.