Complexity as a Paradigm for Social Sciences and Linguistics: Theoretical Basis and Perspectives

Abstract

This article discusses the relevance and significance of the use of complexity as a scientific paradigm in social and human sciences, focusing on linguistics. For this, a review of the concept of paradigm is made, and its evolution in the last decades. In this framework, the controversy between quantitative and qualitative methods and their validity in the twentieth century is discussed. In this dichotomy, we claim that the theory of complexity is prepared to assume the use of the so-called Mixed Methods Research (MMR). The paper develops the impact of Complex Systems (CS) and Complex Adaptive systems (CAS) in science, as well as the epistemological and methodological implications this entails. Moreover, natural language is defined as a CAS. In general, the article defends the adoption of this paradigm in linguistics, both in synchronous and diachronic research, providing some examples of these new lines of study. In spite of the still emerging nature of some formulations, we envision a deep theoretical breakthrough in linguistics thanks to this interdisciplinary