COMPLEXITY AS A SYSTEM PROPERTY†

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Abstract
Complexity is generally viewed as an intrinsic property of certain kinds of systems, or at least, as a property of a specific description of such systems. The view towards complexity taken in the present note is different; namely, that complexity reflects the necessity for many distinct modes of description of a system. This in turn depends upon the number of ways we can effectively interact with a system, and ultimately on the number of distinct subsystems which available observational techniques make accessible to us. A number of important implications of this point of view, bearing particularly on system analysis in biology, and on reductionism as a general analytic strategy, are pointed out. The relation between the concepts of complexity, error and emergence is briefly explored.

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