This preprint examines the epistemological limits that arise upstream of mathematical formalization in the modeling of complex systems. Rather than proposing a new formal framework, the paper focuses on the structural framing assumptions that shape how systems are rendered intelligible before equations, variables, or state spaces are defined. By distinguishing between formal rigor and structural relevance, it argues that certain persistent modeling difficulties may stem not from insufficient mathematical sophistication, but from unexamined pre-formal commitments. The objective is methodological: to clarify the conditions under which formal modeling becomes meaningful, coherent, and structurally adequate in complex, multi-scale systems.
PAMELA MAGOTTE (Tue,) studied this question.