hierarchy theory
Hierarchy theory is a means of studying ecological systems in which the relationship between all of the components is of great complexity. Hierarchy theory focuses on levels of organization and issues of scale, with a specific focus on the role of the observer in the definition of the system.{{cite web |last=Allen |first=Timothy F. H. |date=2001 |title=A summary of the principles of hierarchy theory |url=http://isss.org/hierarchy.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011218001638/http://isss.org/hierarchy.htm |archive-date=2001-12-18 |access-date=2016-03-19}} Complexity in this context does not refer to an intrinsic property of the system but to the possibility of representing the systems in a plurality of non-equivalent ways depending on the pre-analytical choices of the observer. Instead of analyzing the whole structure, hierarchy theory refers to the analysis of hierarchical levels, and the interactions between them.
See also
References
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Further reading
- {{cite thesis |type=Ph.D. thesis |last=Brooks |first=Daniel Stephen |date=August 2014 |title=The concept of levels of organization in the biological sciences |location=Bielefeld |publisher=Bielefeld University |oclc=942715109 |url=http://d-nb.info/1082033960/34 }}
- {{cite journal |last=Eronen |first=Markus I. |date=August 2014 |title=Levels of organization: a deflationary account |journal=Biology and Philosophy |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=39–58 |doi=10.1007/s10539-014-9461-z |s2cid=145635601 |url=https://philarchive.org/rec/EROLOO }}
- {{cite journal |last1=Potochnik |first1=Angela |last2=McGill |first2=Brian J. |date=January 2012 |title=The limitations of hierarchical organization |journal=Philosophy of Science |volume=79 |issue=1 |pages=120–140 |doi=10.1086/663237 |jstor=663237 |s2cid=123858030 |url=http://homepages.uc.edu/~potochaa/hierarchy.pdf }}
- {{cite book |last1=Ahl |first1=Valerie |last2=Allen |first2=Timothy F. H. |date=1996 |title=Hierarchy theory: a vision, vocabulary, and epistemology |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=0231084803 |oclc=34149766 }}
- {{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Timothy F. H. |last2=Hoekstra |first2=Thomas W. |date=2015 |orig-year=1992 |title=Toward a unified ecology |edition=2nd |series=Complexity in ecological systems series |location=New York |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231168885 |oclc=920475391 }}
- {{cite book |last1=O'Neill |first1=Robert V. |last2=Deangelis |first2=Donald Lee |last3=Waide |first3=J. B. |last4=Allen |first4=Timothy F. H. |date=1986 |title=A hierarchical concept of ecosystems |series=Monographs in population biology |volume=23 |location=Princeton, NJ |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=069108436X |oclc=13526197 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOU9DwAAQBAJ }}
- {{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Timothy F. H |last2=Starr |first2=Thomas B. |date=2017 |orig-year=1982 |title=Hierarchy: perspectives for ecological complexity |edition=2nd |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0226489544 |oclc=967919711 |doi=10.7208/chicago/9780226489711.001.0001 }}
- {{cite journal |last=Guttman |first=Burton S. |date=February 1976 |title=Is 'levels of organization' a useful biological concept? |journal=BioScience |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=112–113 |doi=10.2307/1297326 |jstor=1297326 }}
- {{cite book |last=Pattee |first=Howard Hunt |authorlink=Howard H. Pattee |date=1973 |title=Hierarchy theory: the challenge of complex systems |series=International library of systems theory and philosophy |location=New York |publisher=George Braziller |isbn=080760674X |oclc=638741 }}
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