Systems Thinking.. or Not? LO25051

From: Roy Benford (roy@benford.demon.co.uk)
Date: 07/08/00


Replying to LO25043 --

Richard

You said:

>But, if we start to think that our theory is "real," confusing our
>theory with reality, this is a serious error. That is, if we are so
>sure of our theory that we cannot actively hold the possibility that
>it might be wrong or incomplete, then we are in grave danger. (END
>OF STATEMENT)

Sounds to me that you might be falling into the very trap that you are
talking about. By defining reality as something definitive and absolute,
are we not falling back into the same error in thinking?

>And, is this what concerns you about Richmond's 7 systems thinking skills,
>At's 7 essentialities, Senge's five disciplines, etc.?

Aren't all of these merely just frameworks that help us construct reality
and enable us to solve problems within that constructed reality? Do these
frameworks construct similar views of reality, or do they construct vastly
different views of reality? If they are similar, is this not because the
frameworks are based upon the same assumptions about the world rather than
that there is a definitive reality?

Roy Benford
Fulmer, UK

-- 

"Roy Benford" <roy@benford.demon.co.uk>

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