Emergent Emergencies in Complex Ecosystems

Reflections on the Limits of Narrative Cognition and a Revisiting of Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park (1990)

Abstract

This article argues that ‘emergent emergencies’ in complex natural systems or ‘ecosystems’ can be understood as the ethical consequences of cognitive failure or “epistemological error” (Gregory Bateson). More specifically, I hold that complex systems display emergent behaviors, and that narrative cognition is not particularly well suited for understanding emergence. Building on previous narratological work on the incompatibility of narrative and emergence (H. Porter Abbott, Richard Walsh), I argue that narrative thinking and complex systems are each characterized by distinct types of ‘agency,’ or ways of conceptualizing agency. In its second half, the essay turns to Michael Crichton’s classic Jurassic Park (1990), reading the novel as a fictional thought experiment which not only simulates an emergency situation, but also explores the reasons for the collapsing of the control system in the fictional theme park from the vantage of chaos theory. It will be shown that the emergent emergency staged in the novel is the result of cognitive failure on the part of the park managers, who are misled by a ‘narrative of centralized control’ (Abbott) in their attempts to control the park and a reductionist conceptualization of ‘life.’ Such reductionist approaches to life are contrasted with ecological frameworks in this article.