Three Principles of the Theoretical Foundations of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems: Autopoiesis, Becoming and Autokinetics

Three Principles of the Theoretical Foundations of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems: Autopoiesis, Becoming and Autokinetics. Currently, sociology focuses on the issue of social dynamics. Various theories and methodologies of social dynamics developing within the paradigm of complexity are usually based upon one of the three basic principles: autopoiesis, becoming and autokinetics (autodynamics). These can be considered the basic principles with respect to the origin, functioning, and development of nonlinear dynamical systems in different areas. All three principles are therefore further developed and applied both on the general level of science and on the level of individual scientific disciplines, in this case sociology. In addition, these principles are applied in the research of social dynamics. The study presents basic knowledge of scientific concepts, namely autopoiesis (Maturana - Varela), becoming (Prigogine) and autokinetics (Cernik). At the same time, the author pays attention to their sociological versions (autopoiesis - Luhmann; becoming - Sztompka; autokinetics - Hirner). The text is a comparative analysis of both the vertical (coherence of general and sociological versions, possible modifications and innovations) and horizontal dimension (comparison of strenghts and weaknessess of individual concepts). Despite partial modifications, the analysis has shown substantial coherence between the general and the sociological versions of autopoiesis, becoming and autokinetics. Since sociological versions of autopoiesis and becoming suffer from serious conceptual restrictions (in the first case mainly from holism, in the second case from a type of hypostazing of the so-called third level of reality), autokinetics seems to be the optimal concept for the research of the dynamics of social systems. Nevertheless, this concept also requires further elaboration. Sociologia 2011, Vol. 43 (No. 5: 463-494)