Coevolving Innovations

… in Business Organizations and Information Technologies

Reframing Systems Thinking for Systems Changes: Sciencing and Philosophizing from Pragmatism towards Processes as Rhythms | JISSS

An article on “sciencing and philosophizing”, coauthored by Gary S. Metcalf and myself, has been published in the Journal of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, following the ISSS 2023 Kruger Park conference in South Africa, last July.  There’s a version cacned on  the Coevolving Commons.

This article started in a series of conversations with Gary in early 2023, as he was listening to the history of Pragrmatism as an audiobook of The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas by Louis Menand, written in 2002.  Key figures in the development of this philosophy includes William James (1842—1910) and Charles Sanders Peirce (1839—1914).  My interests have taken me backwards in time, with C. West Churchman and Russell Ackoff both students of Edgar A. Singer, Jr., who was a student of William James.  A thread looking into Stephen C. Pepper, also a student of William James and Ralph Barton Perry, was encouraged by online comments from Michael C. Jackson, OBE.  This led to a tracing of philosophical influences from the 1890s to 2000.

Institutional lineages of key figures in systems sciences and pragmatism

With my current research into Classical Chinese philosophy, I was encouraged by an 1993 interview citing Churchman having a similar interest for in exploring alternatives to classical Western philosophy for sciencing on systems.

In conversations with Churchman on the historical sources of systems thinking, he often identified the Chinese I Ching as the oldest systems approach. As an effort to model dynamic processes of changing relationships between different kinds of elements, the I Ching might be seen as a systemic approach, in contrast with the more systematic approach of rationalist Western thought, rooted in the work of Plato and Aristotle. The pre-Socratic philosophers were perhaps closer in spirit to the Eastern view than they were to the more orderly view of systems embodied in the later evolution of the Western tradition. This is particularly true of Heraclitus, whose inspiration is often cited in connection with the more progressive developments within the contemporary systems tradition. This contrast between systemic conceptions, which focus on interrelationships and dynamic processes, and the systematic conceptions, which are more concerned with classification and order, is critical in understanding the relationship between different views of systems in the twentieth century (Hammond, 2003, p. 13).

To date, the interest in processual philosophy has led more towards understanding yinyang in the science of Classical Chinese Mecicine.  I have some understanding of the I Ching (Yi Jing), but more study is warranted.

For those tolerant of reading philosophical works, comprehensiveness unfortunately makes the text long.  Here’s an outline.

  • 1. Introduction: Sciencing systems from post-WWII into the 2020s sweeps in philosophizing
  • 2. Sciencing on organizations 1960s-1990s reflects post-WWII scholarship
    • 2.1 The Socio-Psychological Systems perspective and Operations Research came from post-WWII sciencing
      • 2.1.1 Psychologists Trist and Emery were early in organizational development at the rise of industrialization
      • 2.1.2 Philosopher Churchman led architect Ackoff towards philosophy, during WWII problem-solving
      • 2.1.3 In the early 1970s, the Social Systems Science program brought scholars together into Pennsylvania
    • 2.2 Socio-Technical and Socio-Ecological Systems perspectives evolved to Causal Texture Theory
      • 2.2.1 Industrial mechanization led to the development of the Socio-Technical Systems perspective
      • 2.2.2 The increased speed of change around organizations led to the Socio-Ecological Systems perspective
    • 2.3 Operations Research evolved to Social Systems Science
    • 2.4 After Internet and globalization, 2020s concerns included service economy and Anthropocene
  • 3. Philosophizing on science in the 1940s-1970s coincided with postwar recovery
    • 3.1 Causal Texture Theory has root metaphors in organicism and contextualist world hypotheses
    • 3.2 Social Systems Science couples science with values, and progress towards ideals, from nonrelativistic pragmatism
    • 3.3 Ecological anthropology temporalizes, yinyang synthesizes dyadic rhythms
      • 3.3.1 Philosophizing on ecological systems has re-expressed strands as lines co-responding over time
      • 3.3.2 Philosophizing on metaphysics enables an appreciation of foundations in Chinese medical science
      • 3.3.3 Reframed practices can result from expansive approaches to philosophizing and sciencing
  • 4. Sciencing on systems changes leads to philosophizing on sciencing
    • 4.1 Contextural-dyadic thinking mutually unfolds Socio-Technical and Socio-Ecological
    • 4.2 Socio-Technical as yin alongside Socio-Ecological as yang is a new world hypothesis
    • 4.3 Eurhythmatizing dyads in contextures replaces idealizing towards steady states
  • 5. Conclusion: Textures can be systems; not all systems are textures
  • Appendix 1: Philosophical lineages from 1890 into 20th century systems thinking
  • Appendix 2: Object Process Modeling of Causal Textures Theory with Contextual Dyadic Thinking
  • References

We, as the authors, have proposed that this research article might be broken down into two parts, for republishing in a more digestible form.

In a change of procedure from previous ISSS meetings, this submission this year was double-blind peer-reviewed.  In addition to some comments on a few additional references, a reviewer suggested that we change the title to better match the abstract.  So, while this might be known as the “sciencing and philosophizing” paper, the final title reflects the larger research agenda into systems changes, by the end of year 5 of an epoused 10-year journey.

At the ISSS meeting in South Africa, the audience was unfamiliar with the history of pragmatism, so Gary focused his talk on that.  A more relaxed pace for the July 2023 Systems Thinking Ontario session gave us an opportunity for a longer presentation that could be recorded.

Here’s the official abstract, as published.


Abstract

Systems thinking rose in 20th century industrial society largely from post-WWII research. Psychologists Eric L. Trist and Fred E. Emery were early in human relations, later turning towards sociology. Philosophers C. West Churchman and Russell L. Ackoff were cofounders of Operations Research, applying pragmatism to problem-solving of complex issues. The texture of Socio-Technical Systems (STS) and Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) perspectives interweaves with management science and inquiring systems.

In the 21st century, the Service Economy and Ecological Anthropocene followed advancement of the Internet and globalization through the 1990s. Resurfacing Trist-Emery and Churchman-Ackoff for a new generation not only revisits their sciencing, but also philosophizing.

Trist-Emery Socio-Psychological Systems (SPS) and STS perspectives extended the structuralist psychology of Gestalt, through Andras Angyal and Kurt Lewin. The SES perspective built on the pragmatist metaphilosophy of Stephen C. Pepper. Sciencing by Churchman-Ackoff encouraged Operations Research beyond mathematics towards collaborative decision-making. Postwar applied philosophizing built on the experimentalism of Edgar A. Singer Jr. This lineage traces from the Metaphysical Club circa 1890, through the 1980s.

Philosophizing in the 21st century provides new lenses for the systems sciences. Through ecological anthropology, Tim Ingold depicts the lives of lines, and texture in weaving. Through Classical Chinese Medicine, Keekok Lee distinguishes yin qi and yang qi. In post-colonial constructionist program of Rethinking Systems Thinking, principal concepts of (i) rhythm, (ii) texture, and (ii) propensity have become the core of Systems Changes Learning practices, theory, and methods. A new world hypothesis of (con)textural-dyadicism is proposed, combining STS and SES features. The associated systems theory foregrounds time-space changes over the defining of space-time systems and boundaries. Philosophizing across Western and Classical Chinese traditions requires deeper inquiry and education.

Keywords: Systems change, philosophy of science, pragmatism, Chinese philosophy, socio-technical, socio-ecological

Citation

David Ing and Gary S. Metcalf, “Reframing Systems Thinking for Systems Changes: Sciencing and Philosophizing from Pragmatism towards Processes as Rhythms.” Journal of the International Society for the Systems Sciences 67: 4154. https://journals.isss.org/index.php/jisss/article/view/4154.

Reference

Hammond, Debora. 2003. The Science of Synthesis: Exploring the Social Implications of General Systems Theory. University Press of Colorado. https://muse.jhu.edu/book/85409/.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • RSS qoto.org/@daviding (Mastodon)

    • Nov 26, 2024, 03:25 November 26, 2024
      Web recording of the 125th meeting of #SystemsThinking Ontario: A retrospective, introspective, and prospective discussion about systems convening, in coordination with #RSDSymposium .https://coevolving.com/blogs/index.php/archive/systems-thinking-ontario-as-systems-convening-st-on-2024-10-21/
    • Nov 16, 2024, 17:53 November 16, 2024
      In which directions should #SystemsThinking advance? In 1985, Bela H. Banathy promoted engaging into systems inquiry in (i) systems theory, (ii) systems philosophy, and (iii) systems methodology, towards application and competence. https://coevolving.com/blogs/index.php/archive/systems-theory-systems-philosophy-systems-methodology-banathy-1985/
    • Oct 29, 2024, 21:05 October 29, 2024
      From late September into October, researchers met for 5 intensive days for #CreativeSystemicResearchPlatformInstitute Banathy Conversation event in Lugano. https://coevolving.com/blogs/index.php/archive/csrp-institute-2024-banathy-conversation-lugano/ #SystemsThinking
    • Sep 19, 2024, 03:50 September 19, 2024
      Web video of launch of book "Seeing: A Field Guide to the Patterns and Processes of Nature, Culture, and Consciousness" by #LynnRasmussen. Joined by #LauraCivitello of #MauiInstitute, making Systems Process Theory of #LenTroncale accessible. https://coevolving.com/blogs/index.php/archive/book-launch-seeing-a-field-guide_rasmussen-civitello/
    • Sep 14, 2024, 02:44 September 14, 2024
      Web video presentation complementing preprint of "Reifying Socio-Technical and Socio-Ecological Perspectives for Systems Changes: From rearranging objects to repacing rhythms" for International Conference on Socio-Technical Perspectives in IS (STPIS’24) https://coevolving.com/blogs/index.php/archive/reifying-socio-technical-and-socio-ecological-perspectives-for-systems-changes-stpis/
  • RSS on IngBrief

    • Notion of Change in the Yijing | JeeLoo Lin 2017
      The appreciation of change is different in Western philosophy than in classical Chinese philosophy. JeeLoo Lin published a concise contrast on differences. Let me parse the Introduction to the journal article, that is so clearly written. The Chinese theory of time is built into a language that is tenseless. The Yijing (Book of Changes) there […]
    • World Hypotheses (Stephen C. Pepper) as a pluralist philosophy [Rescher, 1994]
      In trying to place the World Hypotheses work of Stephen C. Pepper (with multiple root metaphors), Nicholas Rescher provides a helpful positioning. — begin paste — Philosophical perspectivism maintains that substantive philosophical positions can be maintained only from a “perspective” of some sort. But what sort? Clearly different sorts of perspectives can be conceived of, […]
    • The Nature and Application of the Daodejing | Ames and Hall (2003)
      Ames and Hall (2003) provide some tips for those studyng the DaoDeJing.
    • Diachronic, diachrony
      Finding proper words to express system(s) change(s) can be a challenge. One alternative could be diachrony. The Oxford English dictionary provides two definitions for diachronic, the first one most generally related to time. (The second is linguistic method) diachronic ADJECTIVE Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “diachronic (adj.), sense 1,” July 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/3691792233. For completeness, prochronic relates “to […]
    • Introduction, “Systems Thinking: Selected Readings, volume 2”, edited by F. E. Emery (1981)
      The selection of readings in the “Introduction” to Systems Thinking: Selected Readings, volume 2, Penguin (1981), edited by Fred E. Emery, reflects a turn from 1969 when a general systems theory was more fully entertained, towards an urgency towards changes in the world that were present in 1981. Systems thinking was again emphasized in contrast […]
    • Introduction, “Systems Thinking: Selected Readings”, edited by F. E. Emery (1969)
      In reviewing the original introduction for Systems Thinking: Selected Readings in the 1969 Penguin paperback, there’s a few threads that I only recognize, many years later. The tables of contents (disambiguating various editions) were previously listed as 1969, 1981 Emery, System Thinking: Selected Readings. — begin paste — Introduction In the selection of papers for this […]
  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • RSS on daviding.com

    • 2024/11 Moments November 2024
      Road trip to Rochester NY and Ithaca, with visits to art galleries as the days get shorter.
    • 2024/10 Moments October 2024
      Journey from Lugano Switzerland, return via Milan Italy, to fall in Toronto
    • 2024/09 Moments September 2024
      September neighbourhood music performances, day out with father, son's birthday party, travel via Milan to Genoa, systems conversation in Lugano
    • 2024/08 Moments August 2024
      Summer finishing with family events, and lots of outdoor music performances, captured with a new mirrorless camera for video from mid-month
    • 2024/07 Moments July 2024
      Summer festivals and music incubator shows in Toronto, all within biking distance.
    • 2024/06 Moments June 2024
      Summer jazz at the Distillery District, in Washington DC while at the annual systems conference, and then Toronto Jazz Festival
  • RSS on Media Queue

    • What to Do When It’s Too Late | David L. Hawk | 2024
      David L. Hawk (American management theorist, architect, and systems scientist) has been hosting a weekly television show broadcast on Bold Brave Tv from the New York area on Wednesdays 6pm ET, remotely from his home in Iowa. Live, callers can join…Read more ›
    • 2021/06/17 Keekok Lee | Philosophy of Chinese Medicine 2
      Following the first day lecture on Philosophy of Chinese Medicine 1 for the Global University for Sustainability, Keekok Lee continued on a second day on some topics: * Anatomy as structure; physiology as function (and process); * Process ontology, and thing ontology; * Qi ju as qi-in-concentrating mode, and qi san as qi-in-dissipsating mode; and […]
    • 2021/06/16 Keekok Lee | Philosophy of Chinese Medicine 1
      The philosophy of science underlying Classical Chinese Medicine, in this lecture by Keekok Lee, provides insights into ways in which systems change may be approached, in a process ontology in contrast to the thing ontology underlying Western BioMedicine. Read more ›
    • 2021/02/02 To Understand This Era, You Need to Think in Systems | Zeynep Tufekci with Ezra Klein | New York Times
      In conversation, @zeynep with @ezraklein reveal authentic #SystemsThinking in (i) appreciating that “science” is constructed by human collectives, (ii) the west orients towards individual outcomes rather than population levels; and (iii) there’s an over-emphasis on problems of the moment, and…Read more ›
    • 2019/04/09 Art as a discipline of inquiry | Tim Ingold (web video)
      In the question-answer period after the lecture, #TimIngold proposes art as a discipline of inquiry, rather than ethnography. This refers to his thinking On Human Correspondence. — begin paste — [75m26s question] I am curious to know what art, or…Read more ›
    • 2019/10/16 | “Bubbles, Golden Ages, and Tech Revolutions” | Carlota Perez
      How might our society show value for the long term, over the short term? Could we think about taxation over time, asks @carlotaprzperez in an interview: 92% for 1 day; 80% within 1 month; 50%-60% tax for 1 year; zero tax for 10 years.Read more ›
  • Meta

  • Creative Commons License
    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
    Theme modified from DevDmBootstrap4 by Danny Machal