Michael Strevens' "Bigger than chaos. Understanding complexity through probability" seeks to explain the existence of 'simple' regularities in the macroscopic level as arising from a chaotic micro-level dynamics. He employs the so called 'method of arbitrary functions' and applies it to the cases of statistical mechanics and population ecology, showing how equilibrium states and simple laws (i.e. linear and with few variables) are a consequence of some features of the micro-level setup and dynamics. The aim of this paper is to explain the key points of his theory and then argue how in such theory the role of the actual micro-level dynamical laws can be marginal under the proper conditions. If this is the case, simple behavior would emerge not only from the presupposed actual (newtonian) deterministic laws but from a larger set of possible fundamental laws.
Keywords: Complex Systems Theory, Physical Necessity, Laws of Nature, Emergence, Reduction, Statistical Mechanics
