1. Disintegration and Integration
The Systems Science of
Disintegration and Integration
Arthur Lyon Dahl Ph.D.
International Environment Forum (IEF)‏
International Environment Forum
21st International Conference
with the Justice Conference
de Poort, The Netherlands
14 April 2017

2. What is integration? making whole or entire
to unite into a perfect whole
harmony with one’s environment
static or dynamic?
does any whole last forever?
ultimate disintegration

3. Cycles of integration and disintegration stars born and die
our body grows and deteriorates
religions are born and decline
civilizations rise and fall

4. Qualities
What are qualities of a young integrating system versus an old disintegrating one?
flexibility/rigidity
innovation/resistance to change
diversify/reject differences

5. Characteristics of integration
high diversity and specialization of functions
cooperation, symbiosis and complementarity
inclusiveness
efficiency of exchanges, communications and networking
increasing capital stock, economy in resource use, efficient cycling, little waste
high energy capture and effective use of flow through system

6. What causes disintegration?
Internal causes:
imbalances escaping from homeostatic mechanisms
failures in resilience
rigidity and overspecialization
inadequate diversity leading to instability
accumulation of disfunctions with age

7. What causes disintegration?
External causes:
changing environmental conditions beyond limits
sudden shocks or damaging events
competition from a more dominant system
conditions creating new potentials for which system not well adapted

8. Disintegration
a civilization or empire depends on social cohesion (indicator: collective violence)
population growth and new technology generate wealth for elite → oversupply of labour increases poverty → concentration of wealth → factionalism → anarchy → collapse → restart (200 year cycle)
predicted political instability/impending crisis in Western Europe and US peaking 2020
need to reduce social inequality
Turchin, Peter, Political instability may be a contributor in the coming decade. Nature, vol. 463, Issue 7281, p (4 February 2010). doi: /463608a
Turchin, Peter, Political instability may be a contributor in the coming decade. Nature, vol. 463, Issue 7281, p (4 February 2010). doi: /463608a
cited in Holmes, Bob, 2012, Revolutionary Cycles, New Scientist,18 August 2012, p
Turchin, Peter War and Peace and War: The Rise and Fall of Empires. Plume Books (Penguin), London. 405 p.

9. Punctuated equilibrium
Complex systems do not usually follow a smooth evolutionary curve towards greater integration and complexity, but experience what is called a punctuated equilibrium, with periods of stability interrupted by times of rapid change with bursts of creativity and reorganization

10. Punctuated equilibrium

11. Evolutionary progression
Dominant entities like the dinosaurs that have over-specialized and have lost the capacity to adapt die out, to be replaced by entities capable of rapid change and with new potentials for increased efficiency and integration (think early mammals)
No complex system lasts for ever; they ultimately break down to make way for a new cycle (stars, civilizations)

12. Human social systems cooperation more efficient than competition
Nowak, Martin A., with Roger Highfield SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed. New York: Free Press
internal control by ethics and values more efficient than laws and regulations
reward more effective than punishment
Nowak, Martin A., with Roger Highfield SuperCooperators: Altruism, Evolution, and Why We Need Each Other to Succeed. New York: Free Press. 330 p.

13. Religion and integration
Recent research suggests that higher levels of human organization can only be explained by the ethical principles of religion.
Turchin, Peter Ultrasociety: How 10,000 Years of War Made Humans the Greatest Cooperators on Earth. Chaplin, Connecticut: Beresta Books.
New values are the catalyst for a new cycle of integration
Turchin, Peter Ultrasociety: How 10,000 Years of War Made Humans the Greatest Cooperators on Earth. Chaplin, Connecticut: Beresta Books.

14. What we need now
The present time with accelerating disintegration of the old system and embryonic development of the new more integrated system (planetary civilization) would call for learning communities accustomed to a culture of change and founded on strong spiritual principles.