Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) has received considerable attention over the last decades, inspiring a number of second language acquisition studies. This article examines the research from a critical epistemological point of view, starting from the Greek philosopher Cratylus, who concluded that remaining silent is the only way to be entirely coherent with the idea that everything is complex and dynamic. An alternative to this drastic conclusion may consist in ‘saying without saying too much’, that is, setting some limits to theorizing and empirical inquiry. Problems of description, prediction and generalization in a CDST framework are discussed, pointing to some open issues to be addressed by future research. Finally, some proposals are made for a more constructive research program, which may even involve abandoning the ‘CDST’ label.

在过去的几十年中，复杂动态系统理论（CDST）受到了相当多的关注，激发了许多第二语言习得研究。本文从批判认识论的角度审查了这项研究，从希腊哲学家Cratylus开始，他得出结论，保持沉默是与所有事物都是复杂而动态的观点完全一致的唯一方法。替代这种激烈结论的另一种方式可能是“不说太多就说”，即为理论化和实证研究设置了一些限制。讨论了CDST框架中的描述，预测和泛化问题，指出了一些尚待进一步研究解决的未解决问题。最后，提出了一些更具建设性的研究计划的建议，甚至可能涉及放弃“ CDST”标签。