Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST), an instantiation in applied linguistics of complexity epistemology that transcends disciplinary boundaries, has gained much traction and momentum over the last decade, finding expressions in a fast-growing number of empirical second language developmental studies. However, the literature, while rapidly expanding, has displayed much confusion, notably oscillating between invoking CDST as a metatheory and as an object theory. Then, too, the metaphorical genesis of CDST—the metaphorical adoption of complexity epistemology from physical sciences—has seemed to invite miscellaneous interpretations, rendering CDST an ostensibly all-in-one conceptual prism. This article explores the epistemology of CDST, tracing its ontology and examining its role in second language developmental research. This enables a more nuanced understanding of CDST, while at once surfacing critical issues and directions for future research, as it moves toward a pluralistic approach to investigating CDST as a potentially unique lens on second language development.

复杂动态系统理论（CDST）是超越学科界限的复杂性认识论应用语言学的实例，在过去十年中获得了很大的关注和动力，在快速增长的实证第二语言发展研究中找到了表达。然而，文献虽然迅速扩展，但也表现出很多混乱，特别是在将 CDST 作为元理论和对象理论之间摇摆不定。此外，CDST 的隐喻起源——从物理科学中隐喻地采用复杂性认识论——似乎引发了各种各样的解释，使 CDST 成为表面上一体化的概念棱镜。本文探讨了 CDST 的认识论，追踪其本体论并检验其在第二语言发展研究中的作用。这使得人们能够对 CDST 有了更细致的理解，同时也为未来研究提供了关键问题和方向，因为它朝着以多元化的方法来研究 CDST 作为第二语言发展的潜在独特视角的方向发展。