Architected Futures™

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Schools of Systems Thinking

Submitted by joe.vansteen on Wed, 06/13/2012 - 11:28

Schools of ST are broadly cast - as of today - into three main 'streams of intellectual virtues' - episteme, techne and phronesis.

Here's a short summary of the ST 'gurus' associated with each 'stream' and the disciplines they support.

The work in the systems sciences can be categorized along the lines of intellectual virtues, as described by the ancient Greeks: (i) systems theory (as with episteme); (ii) systems methods (as with techne); and (iii) systems practice (as with phronesis).

Systems theory responds to questions of “know why”, in the way the world works (or doesn’t). Bodies of knowledge include (i) Living Systems Theory, as originating from James Grier Miller; (ii) Hierarchy Theory, as explained by Timothy F. H. Allen; (iii) Open Systems Theory, through the work of Fred Emery and Merrelyn Emery, and the legacy of the Tavistock Institute for Human Relations; (iv) the Viable Systems Model in management cybernetics, from Stafford Beer; (v) the Design of Inquiring Systems, as described by C. West Churchman and further developed by Ian Mitroff; (vi) Critical Systems Thinking, evolved through Werner Ulrich, Robert Flood and Michael C. Jackson; and (vi) Panarchy and Ecological Resilience, best known from C. S. Holling, and the Resilience Alliance community. Systems theory provides durable knowledge about relations and causality, between parts and wholes in the world.

Systems methods respond to questions of “know how”, particularly when groups of participants are brought together. Bodies of knowledge include (i) System Dynamics, rooted in the tradition of Jay Forrester and continued through a community that includes John Sterman and David C. Lane; (ii) Soft Systems Methodology, with Peter Checkland extending systems engineering techniques; (iii) Interactive Planning, in the redesign of futures in the tradition of Russell Ackoff; (iv) Action Research, with many variants sharing the common ancestry from Kurt Lewin; (v) Structured Dialogic Design, as developed in the community led by Aleco Christakis; (vi) Strategic Assumption Surfacing and Testing, originating from Richard Mason and Ian Mitroff; (vi) Search Conference, as developed by Fred Emery and Merrelyn Emery; and (vii) Deep Dialog, in the work of Howard Perlmutter. Systems methods are chosen and applied according to the contexts in which a (re-)design is desired.

Systems practice responds to questions about “know when”, “know where” and “know whom”, as practical ethics on the scale, scope and speed of changes. Bodies of knowledge include (i) the Language Action Perspective, as originating from Fernando Flores and Terry Winograd; (ii) Appreciative Systems dealing with human values, as outlined by Sir Geoffrey Vickers; (iii) Evolutionary Development, in the tradition of Bela A. Banathy, and further developed by Alexander Laszlo and Kathia Castro Laszlo; and (iv) Systems Intelligence, originating from Raimo Hämäläinen and Esa Saarinen in Finland. Systems practice puts the emphasis on the values considered and/or included in systems changes, including the judgements and experience of those will be impacted or involved about later effects.

A systems approach may emphasize of one or two of the intellectual virtues described above, and will likely sweep in the third. A prescriptive systems approach aims for progress and/or improvement, potentially through a transformative redesign.

T.A. Balasubramanian

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