Chaos As Social Order

this grouping also raises a deeper question for the philosophy or foundations of social science.  This question defines the horizon of my inquiry here:  What properties must the (social) universe have in order to exhibit all four kinds of order?

            Considering chaos as a type of order allows me to use the results of experiments to prepare the conceptual ground for chaos as social order.  I present the established features of chaos which bear on social order.  I highlight the mixing/folding phenomenon characteristic of physical chaotic phenomena (Crutchfield et al 51-4; Gleick 122, 255, 257; Mullin 19-21).  My focus on social power as actions upon actions provides a necessary bridge for understanding chaos as social order.

            After this presentation of chaos theory as a conceptual framework, I then lay out an application of chaos theory to diverse social phenomena–oppression, modernization, language change, moral change, political change, and cyberspace.  In the course of this application, I show that chaos theory can be used conceptually to clarify contemporary social order but that the nature of social phenomena place significant limitations on the mathematical application of chaos theory to social science data.

Social Power

            We begin by reflecting on the fact that others–mother, father, siblings, pets, blankets, rain, sun–have been acting upon us for a long time.  Others, both animate and inanimate, have been acting not only on our bodies as rain acts on tin, water, or sand but more specifically on our bodies’ attempts to act.  These actions include the entire range of qualities–caress and punch, embrace and push, praise and blame, approve and

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