The small group and the complexity paradigm in Edgar Morin

Abstract

The different ways of action and reflection facing group phenomenon are well known as controversial. They run against in the dichotomy between the subject and the society, between the parts and the whole. According to the view of the observer either the subject or the group disappears. This fact alone opens a mental abyss impossible to cross over in terms of social and individual phenomena. Conceptions of subject and society, subject and group that might be seen as antagonistic and concurrent, at first sight, might be taken as supplementary under the perspective of complex thinking. This theoretical article aims to bring into discussion the possibility of articulating complexity paradigm by studying small groups. The main theoretical reference is The Complexity Theory in Edgar Morin. In complex thinking, subject, small group and larger context constitute themselves at the same time. The reciprocal interference that characterizes a dialogic, systemic, hologramic, resourceful and complex relation is highlighted.