A culture of chaos: The politics of dynamic space

Abstract

This discussion of chaos theory is concerned with two major issues. On the one hand, I explore what kind of knowledge is linked to chaos theory, and more specifically how as a science it informs the cultural discourses created by postindustrial societies. On the other hand, I probe chaos theory's potential as a model for challenging the existing conception of our world within the prevailing epistemologies of order and predictability. Both of these issues are addressed with in mind the broader framework and question concerning social relations, especially to the extent that those relations, in their spatial dimension, have become an object of scientific discourse. My approach to chaos theory is purposefully eclectic, conjoining the scientific with the social and the political. I believe that chaos theory points to a dynamic, intertextual, and multidimensional universe, and therefore, my interest lies in these connections, in bridging the various elements working together to create our contemporary, postmodern world. Science creates theories and images of nature that have been used to subordinate and control segments of the population through theories of race and sexuality. Thus, to recognize the existence of complexity and instability is to give away powerful conceptual means of political and social control, a strategy in which Western science has been an active participant.