Given the right conditions, a higher, stable order will emerge from seemingly deep conflict, turbulence, and complexity—both in the physical realm and in human systems. That's at least one of the messages from Twila Hugley Earle [1] in her talk entitled "Community, Chaos Theory and Law." This article summarizes some of the ideas Twila presented at the IAHL conference in November 2004. Twila explains more of her thinking on the relationship between law and chaos theory in an article that is republished from the conference program.

The Shift in Physics to Holism

Twila explains that holism is the underlying premise of chaos theory and the other major discoveries of physics in the last hundred years. "Wholeness is the insight and problem-solving strategy that enabled Einstein to glimpse a reality in which time and space, though they appear to be two different things, are actually one." Einstein's E=MC(2) was a major break from the Newtonian view of the world as a machine. According to Newton, to understand how the world works, break each machine into its discrete pieces and study the one-to-one interactions (and reactions) between its parts. This premise of a chain of cause-and-effect actions, in a linear dynamic, does accurately describe what it describes. But it does not describe the whole picture. As Twila states, "The post-Einstein perspective describes a world of connection, integration, process and interdependence." This world is not seen as a collection of parts or particles with discrete boundaries. Rather, the world is seen as comprising fluid, interdependent relationships and interactive dynamics.

Basics of Chaos Theory

Chaos physicists study "holistic, nonlinear, tipping-point dynamics and patterns" in the physical world. Here are the four basic phases of behavior that occur when order emerges from seeming chaos. Picture what happens to the water in a full bathtub when you pull the plug.

Once the physicists broke out of the linear Newtonian model, they began to see that chaos theory operates in many physical systems. In addition to the formation of the whirlpool, the four-phase sequence describes, for example, the behavior of a dripping faucet, clouds, weather, and how cars cluster on the freeway.

The core principles from chaos theory apply to human systems as well. One of those principles is that the structures that behave according to chaos principles, called "dissipative structures," self-organize. Second, the structures organize using fractal strategy, which refers to symmetry of pattern across scale. That is, when a dissipative structure organizes the turbulence and conflict into a pattern, it does so in a consistent way. The fractal pattern in the whirlpool at the drain is a spiral. When the spiral appears, it is universally consistent, no matter the scale. It appears at the subatomic level, above the bathtub drain, in the eddy of leaves in the gutter, and it is repeated in our solar system and Milky Way. Over eighty percent of the galaxies observed through the Hubble telescope are in some type of spiral form.

Conflict and Community

Twila lends new insight into how chaos theory applies to the relationship between conflict and community. First, development of community is self-organizing. Its existence depends on the ability to absorb and integrate energy found within the natural turbulence in the environment. It builds from the inside-out and is hard-wired in human systems. (For example, as some of us remember from the late sixties and seventies, students will self-organize, whether or not the academic institution approves.) Second, fractal strategy applies to community as well. We can recognize the similarity of patterns by which we deal with conflict and turbulence, regardless of scale, whether dealing with conflicts in one's own conscience, in a staff meeting, a town meeting, or the larger society and between societies. Twila cautions that how the structure self-organizes—whether in a negative or positive way—is important, because the pattern (fractal) can ripple and resonate to other structures in a dramatic way.

For example, a committee of professionals working to establish a community organization to deal with the problem of incest in the community may find itself replicating the basic dynamics of a dysfunctional family. If those involved are able to recognize the pattern, and change it for the better, the impact can be felt by families in the program and by the community as a whole. If the professionals are not able to recognize and change their own dysfunctional pattern, the client families and the community will be negatively affected and the program may fail.

1. There must be sufficient diversity of viewpoints in the system. That is, there must be sufficient qualitative differences among the participants.
2. There must be a sufficient level or degree of energy in the interaction between participants, which may take time.
3. The process itself must be conducive to operating with mutual respect, and there must be a tone set that encourages mutual respect to emerge.

For example, if some individuals with strong points of view are left out of a problem-solving meeting or series of meetings, they may work against whatever was decided. On the other hand, if they are included and the tone of mutual respect is upheld, a different resolution may be achieved with wider support.

The purpose of law is to provide community and society with ways to deal with conflict. Paradoxically, conflict is essential to strengthening the fabric of community. No fabric can be woven from threads that all go the same way. The function of a loom is to hold in equal tension threads that go in counter or opposing directions. The strength of a fabric comes from the quality of the intersections where the threads actually cross each other.