On the path towards a publication in 2023, this plenary talk for the International Society for the Systems Sciences 66th Annual Meeting came with a preamble. Slides were provided in advance at http://coevolving.com/commons/2022-07-08-appreciating-systems-changes, so that details might be later perused at leisure.
Here is the agenda for the presentation:
| A. Rising interest in System(s) Change(s) | |||
| B. Appreciative Systems (Vickers) | |||
| C1. Philosophy of Architectural Design |
C2. Philosophy of Ecological Anthropology |
C3. Philosophy of Classical Chinese Medicine |
C4. Philosophy of Rhythms |
| D. Methods: Multiparadigm Inquiry, Open Theorizing | |||
| E. Systems Changes via Three Philosophies → Systems Rhythms | |||
| F. Contributions that Systems Rhythms Offer to Systems Changes | |||
A key aim of the presentation was to elevate systems rhythms as central to understanding. With a 60-minute time slot, an expectation was set that progress towards the table on slide 43 (Part E) would be expedited. Flipping rapidly through philosophies of architectural design, ecological anthropology, and Classical Chinese Medicine, slide 43 was reached at 25 minutes. At 44 minutes, questions and comments were welcomed. While other presentations orient more towards theory and pratice (that the audience may not have already encountered), the emphasis for this session was more methodological.
This video available on Youtube has also been archived on the Internet Archive .
| Video | H.264 MP4 |
| July 8 (1h12m) |
[20220708_ISSS_plenary Ing_AppreciatingSystemsChanges.m4v] (HD 1536×720 325kbps 237MB) [on the Internet Archive] |
Audio downloadable onto mobile devices was transcoded from the video into MP3.
| Audio | |
| July 8 (1h12m) |
[20220708_ISSS_plenary_Ing_AppreciatingSystemsChanges.mp3] (68.3MB) |
With the publication on methods of Systems Changes Learning not expected until 2023, interested readers might alternatively spend some time with peer-reviewed article on action learning accepted in 2022.
Opportunities to discuss these ideas are more leisure are welcomed!
The original description for the ISSS plenary follows.
Is the subject of systems change(s), as a whole, distinct from a reduction into (i) systems and (ii) changes? For practice, theory and methods to be authentically rigourous, the philosophy underlying an approach to systems changes can be explicated. An appreciative systems framework surfaces presumptions of (i) what are and are not systems changes; (ii) when, where, and for whom, systems changes are prioritized for attention; and (iii) how systems changes should be addressed. Philosophies of (i) architectural design; (ii) ecological anthropology, and (iii) Classical Chinese Medicine are explored through multiparadigm inquiry, and open theorizing. The resulting influence of these three philosophies is considered, leading to a philosophy of systems rhythms more explicitly proposed as a foundation on which to approach systems changes.
