In a message dated 12/20/97 2:25:41 PM, Steve wrote:
>I am not clear why sociobiological mental models have suddenly become
>widespread, and so compelling that many who hold them want to talk about
>them not as metaphors or models but as truth: why they want to believe
>that social groups are alive and evolve and get sick and die, and so on.
I have been a silent reader of this thread about whether an organization
is alive or not. And, your remarks this time finally triggered for me the
question of what does it mean to be alive? This is moving into double and
triple loop learning. Might be an interesting inquiry.
Is this notion of an organization a metaphor or a valid distinction?
Those who have researched "life" such as the Santa Fe Institute point to a
complex adaptive system as being alive. An organization falls into this
definition. But what difference does it make to us whether we say it's
alive or not? The only thing I can think of is the power of the
interpretation. What does this interpretation open or close and how does
that compare with the power of other interpretations?
Steve, in my opinion the reason some metaphors take hold in certain times
is that they open possiblities for new more effective action addressing
human concerns. When stories/metaphors/interpretations do not produce a
compelling future for human beings and their concerns, they tend to die
out and get replaced by new stories that are more powerful.
Regards,
Margaret McIntyre
MargMcI@aol.com
[Side bar to Rick, this thread has had several names -- changing when people
want to emphasize their point of view such as the clock metaphor. I find
changing the thread name when there isn't a subtantive change of topic to be
confusing and makes it harded to keep the thread coherent, especially in
archives. I suggest not changing the thread title unless it is really called
for. Anyone else have an opinion on this? - Margaret]
[Host's Note: Yes, our principle is to keep the same subject line until it
should change; I try to watch this, but sometimes it's hard for writers
(and for me) to tell. ...Rick]
--MargMcI <MargMcI@aol.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>