To analyze complex situations we use everyday analogies that allow us to invest in an unknown domain knowledge we have acquired in a known field. In this work the author proposes a modeling and analysis method that uses the analogy of the ecosystem to embrace the complexity of an area of knowledge. After a history of the ecosystem concept and these derivatives (nature, ecology, environment ) from antiquity to the present, the analysis method based on the modeling of socio-semantic ontologies is presented, followed by practical examples of this approach in the areas of software development, digital humanities, Big Data, and more generally in the area of complex analysis.

Samuel Szoniecky is a lecturer in Digital Humanities at Paris 8 University, France, and a researcher at the Laboratoire Paragraphe.