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"The Synergism Hypothesis"
On the Concept of Synergy and It's Role in the Evolution of Complex Systems

Peter A. Corning, Ph.D.
Institute for the Study of Complex Systems
119 Bryant Street, Suite 212
Palo Alto, CA 94301 USA

Phone: (650) 325-5717
Fax: (650) 325-3775
Email: pacorning@complexsystems.org

© JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND EVOLUTIONARY SYSTEMS 21(2):133-172 (1998)

"Generalizations derived from a juxtaposition of facts are not fruitful unless some conceptual, theoretical scheme guided the generalizations and, incidentally, the selection of facts..."

Anatol Rapoport

"Experiments unguided by an appropriate theoretical framework usually amount to little more than 'watching the pot boil'... We need experiments to inform theory, but without theory all is lost."

John H. Holland

Synergy -- here defined broadly as the combined (interdependent) effects produced by two or more parts, elements or individuals -- is a ubiquitous phenomenon in nature and human societies alike. Although it plays a prominent part in most, if not all, of the scientific disciplines, its importance is not widely appreciated because it travels under many different aliases, including emergence, cooperativity, symbiosis, coevolution, symmetry, order, epistasis, mutualism, interdependencies, heterosis, phase transitions, systemic effects, even complexity and "dynamical attractors." (A number of examples are provided to illustrate.) At the very least, the term "synergy" could be utilized as a pan-disciplinary lingua franca for the functional effects produced by cooperative phenomena of various kinds; a terminological shift would underscore the fact that the differently- named phenomena studied by various disciplines are in fact variations on a common theme in the natural world. But more important, synergistic effects of various kinds have also played a major causal role in the evolutionary process; in particular, synergistic effects have provided the underlying functional basis for the evolution of complex systems, in nature and human societies alike. The so-called "synergism hypothesis" is here briefly described, and the accumulating support for this theory is summarized. Some methods for testing the theory are also discussed.

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