Edgar Morin, La Méthode [The Method]

Henry Dicks (Université Lyon 3)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.07: French Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Averis (University of Western Australia), Hugo Azerad (University of Cambridge), Patrick ffrench (King's College London), Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Akane Kawakami (Birkbeck, University of London), Siobhán McIlvanney (King's College London), Sinan Richards (King's College London), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Domains

Philosophy (any)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1977 - 2004

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Treatise

Resources

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La Méthode

is a six-volume work by the French sociologist and philosopher Edgar Morin. Published over the period 1977-2004, the principal question it sets out to answer is “how are beings organized?” Drawing primarily on cybernetics and systems theory,

La Méthode

puts forward an original theory of the organization of physical beings, which progressively gains in complexity as Morin introduces various other beings – living beings, humans, societies, ideas, etc. – into his argument. The “Method” referred to in the title does not imply any sort of programme or methodology that can thereafter be simply carried out: the method of “complexity” – a term with which Morin is now widely associated – is rather something that emerges progressively over the course of the work.

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1695 words

Citation: Dicks, Henry. "La Méthode". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 03 September 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34686, accessed 27 November 2024.]