Gray Southon writes:
>I have been impressed with the writings of George Soros who highlights the
>fact that with social systems, the theory is in fact part of the system,
>and is capable of changing the system itself. He describes these as
>reflexive systems. He claims that this aspect has been ignored by social
>scientists, and argues that it demands a very different approach to theory
>and knowing in social science than is used in natural sciences.
I agree with you but want to point out a very important exception. Jay
Forrester, founder of system dynamics, wrote this in his very first
publication on the subject:
"Economic and industrial systems would not ... be independent of a process
that would ... predict the state of the system far into the future.
Predictions are sought as a guide to actions that would take place within
the system being modeled."
He goes on to say, "The predicting procedure would not, therefore, exist
separately. It would become a component of a larger model of the total
system and would contribute to the dynamic behavior character of the
system as a whole."
System dynamics models attempt to provide guidance to decision makers and,
thus, become part of the system being modeled. Sophisticated
practitioners are aware of the interaction between model (Gray's "theory")
and system and use this to help change the system in desirable ways.
--"John Gunkler" <jgunkler@sprintmail.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>