Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the importance of systems thinking in studying social complexity and emergence. It also discusses a more basic issue the recent "ontological turn" in social science and underlines the significant role of ontology in social studies. Bunge's influence is considerable in Latin America, where his works have been taken seriously by systems scientists and social researchers. In Europe, scholars in German-speaking academic communities have also begun to compare Niklas Luhmann's systems theory with Bunge's emergentist systemism, and have recognized that Bunge's approach is a viable alternative to that of Luhmann in the fields of social work and social policy. Luhmann's social ontology, which asserts that social systems are self-referential, "autopoietic", and consist only of communications, also receives a preliminary discussion.