Review article In: Language and Dialogue: Online-First Articles
Review article
. Principles of new science. Dialogue in the stream of life. Edda Weigand.
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Abstract
This review article critically examines Edda Weigand’s New
Science (2026), which reconceptualises scientific inquiry as a science of
complexity grounded in human competence-in-performance and dialogic action “in the stream
of life”. Moving beyond traditional method-driven models, Weigand proposes a shift from
certainty and rule-governed abstraction towards the dynamic interplay of human abilities,
purpose, and interaction. The review situates this approach within broader debates in the
philosophy of science and dialogue studies, particularly in relation to Kuhn, Popper, and
complexity theory. It discusses key concepts including competence-in-performance,
dialogicity, and the hierarchical structure of meaning, arguing that Weigand’s framework
offers an original contribution to dialogue-oriented linguistics and to rethinking the
relationship between language, action, and scientific inquiry.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction: Science beyond certainty
- 2.Theoretical foundations of “New Science”
- 2.1From method to object
- 2.2Complexity and non-equilibrium
- 2.3Human beings at the centre
- 3.Dialogue as the core of scientific inquiry
- 4.Architecture of complexity and meaning
- 5.Implications for linguistics and dialogue studies
- 6.Critical discussion
- 7.Conclusion
References
References (3)
Grein, Marion. 2020. “Cross-linguistic Influence and the MGM.” Language and Dialogue 10(3): 369–388.
Prigogine, Ilya. 1987. “Exploring Complexity.” European Journal of Operational Research 301: 97–103.
Weigand, Edda. 2009. Language as Dialogue. From Rules to Principles of Probability, ed. by Sebastian Feller. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.