Postmodernism and Popularisation

The Cultural Life of Chaos Theory

Bibliographic Data

ID12721370
AuthorsWarren S Smith (University of Leicester, corresponding author), Warren Smith (0000-0002-6799-1780), Matthew Higgins (0000-0002-1970-3780)
Year2003
Volume9
Issue2
Pages93-104
Publication date2003-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCulture and Organization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1475-9551 • E-ISSN: 1477-2760
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14759550302803
OpenAlexW1964358978
LanguageEN
References cited14

Popular accounts of science have helped to stimulate greater public interest in the role of science in contemporary society. For example, chaos theory and complexity theory have proven to be highly marketable science "products". These concepts have increasingly travelled into wider culture and, notably, the study of organization. Through an interpretation that promotes a leaning towards uncertainty, unpredictability and ambiguity, these accounts of science have been seen to provoke a (postmodern) re-conceptualisation of our view of the world. Indeed the overtly philosophical style of many of these stories has provided a rich source of material for social scientists seeking to explain and legitimise developments in organization and cultural studies. Concentrating upon the treatment of chaos theory as a "postmodern science", this paper examines and questions the historical and cultural influences that have encouraged the appropriation of theories from the natural science

Ambiguity · Appropriation · Chaos theory · Culture theory · Economics · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Interpretation (philosophy · Natural (archaeology · Postmodernism · Social science · Sociology · Chaos, Complexity, and Education · Complex Systems and Decision Making · History · Management and Organizational Studies · Philosophy

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