Chaos Theory Essay

Theory Description
The chaos theory is a part of the broader Systems Theory. The systems theory simply states that small systems are a part of a larger, complex system. Being that they are open rather than closed, the smaller systems are able to continuously interact with each other making them interdependent. Open systems allow for chaos to exist because boundaries are always changing and being defined and redefined (Bussolari & Goodell, 2009).
Chaos Theory is a relatively new theory to the Social Work practice. This theory suggests that systems are constantly changing. As explained by Bussolari and Goodell (2009), Henri Ponicare tried to show that though systems are simple, they may produce unexpected behavior. One of the main concepts of the chaos theory is the butterfly effect. The butterfly effect simply sates that any small change “can greatly alter the emergent pattern” or result (Bussolari & Goodell, 2009). The origin of the butterfly effect is scientific. It comes from Edward Lorenz, a meteorologist who found that a slight decimal change in his calculations drastically changed his computer output (Bussolari & Goodell, 2009). For example, in the short story, “A Sound of Thunder” Ray Bradbury tells a story of a hunter named Eckels who travels back in time and inadvertently steps on a butterfly. When Eckles gets back to the future, he finds that things have changed drastically such as the results of a recent election (Bradbury, 1952). A seemingly minute change such as crushing a butterfly significantly altered the future.
Nonlinear relationship is also a key principle of chaos theory (Hudson, 2000). According to Hudson (2000), nonlinearity is necessary for chaos. It shows the disproportion of cause and eff...

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...en as unpredictable. An individual cannot necessarily go off of what one person does and generalize it to a whole population. Chaos theory forces one to look at people as individuals. It promotes the idea that each person is an individual complex system that may or may not behave as predicted.
However, in relation to social and economic justice, chaos theory does nothing to improve them. As defined by the by Center for Economic and Social Justice, justice is “a set of universal principles which guide people in judging what is right and wrong…”. Chaos theory does nothing to guide people in choosing what is right or wrong. It is simply a theory that explains dynamic behavior. The theory does not guide the construction of economic and social institutions. If chaos theory does in fact improve justice, there is a gap in the literature to support that claim.