A Critique of Attar of Nishapur's Anecdote of Sheikh San’an Based on the Complex Systems Theory

The ‘Complex Systems Theory’ is a new and holistic approach to analyzing systems, which in contrast to the partial-reductionist perspectives, begins by analyzing the structure of a system as a whole and proceeds to the functions of its components. Within the framework of this theory, we are concerned with characteristics such as non-linear behaviors, system’s chaotic and dynamic states, feedback process, synergistic composition, final stable balance in a cybernetic (self-control) state, etc. The existence of various actors and actionable agents, addition of the new and needed components for stabilizing chaos, non-linear interactions of the independent elements with each other and with the environment, and the effects of marginal elements on the anecdote of Sheikh San’an make it possible to analyze it within the framework of the complex systems theory. In the current study, we made an effort to critique this anecdote qualitatively. By assessing the unrevealed potentials of this anecdote, we tried to show that besides having a complex social system, it behaved in a non-linear and unpredictable way and that its intricacies were reduced by meticulously investigating its elements and their disorganized and complicated interactions, to achieve a thorough comprehension of the text. By the use of this approach, we could investigate the functions of Sheik San’an, his followers, and the Christian girl in relation to the other subsystems, such as sleep, fate, and death, and holistically illustrate the dynamic evolution of its components. The system evolved in the self-controlled states of Sheikh San’an and the Christian girl as two major subsystems through the feedback process, thus dealing with a self-organizing system. This study could contribute to the illumination of the unseen potentials of texts that could be re-read in this way.