Editing Social complexity (section)

==Theoretic background==
{{Sociology}}
In 1937, the sociologist [[Talcott Parsons]] continued the work of the early theoreticians of sociology with his work on [[Action theory (sociology)|action theory]];<ref name="Parsons-a">Parsons, Talcott (1937) and (1949). ''The Structure of Social Action: A Study in Social Theory with Special Reference to a Group of European Writers''. New York, NY: The Free Press.</ref> and by 1951, Parson had developed action theory into formal [[systems theory]] in ''The Social System'' (1951).<ref name="Parsons-b">Parsons, Talcott (1951). ''The Social System''. New York, NY: The Free Press</ref> In the following decades, the synergy between general [[systems thinking]] and the development of [[social system]] theories is carried forward by [[Robert K. Merton]] in discussions of theories of the [[Middle range theory (sociology)|middle-range]] and [[Structure and agency|social structure and agency]]. From the late 1970s until the early 1990s, sociological investigation concerned the properties of systems in which the strong correlation of sub-parts leads to the observation of [[autopoiesis|autopoetic]], [[self-organization|self-organizing]], [[Dynamical system|dynamical]], [[turbulent]], and [[Chaotic system|chaotic]] behaviours that arise from mathematical [[Complexity science|complexity]], such as the work of [[Niklas Luhmann]].<ref>Luhmann, Niklas (1990.) ''Essays on Self-Reference'', New York: Columbia University Press.</ref>

One of the earliest usages of the term "complexity", in the [[Social science|social]] and [[behavioral sciences]], to refer specifically to a [[complex system]] is found in the study of [[Complexity theory and organizations|modern organizations]] and [[management studies]].<ref>Kiel, L. Douglas (1994). ''Managing Chaos and Complexity in Government: A New Paradigm for Managing Change, Innovation and Organizational Renewal.'' Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.</ref> However, particularly in management studies, the term often has been used in a [[metaphor]]ical rather than in a [[Qualitative property|qualitative]] or [[quantitative property|quantitative]] theoretical manner.<ref name="CCS-MMT" /> By the mid-1990s, the "complexity turn"<ref name=Urry>Urry, John (2005). "The Complexity Turn." ''Theory, Culture and Society'', 22(5): 1–14.</ref> in social sciences begins as some of the same tools generally used in [[complexity science]] are incorporated into the social sciences. By 1998, the international, electronic periodical, ''[[Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation]]'', had been created. In the last several years, many publications have presented overviews of complexity theory within the field of sociology. Within this body of work, connections also are drawn to yet other theoretical traditions, including [[constructivist epistemology]] and the philosophical positions of [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]], [[postmodernism]] and [[critical realism (philosophy of the social sciences)|critical realism]].