Rethinking Systems Thinking: Learning and Coevolving with the World

Abstract

Much of systems thinking, as commonly espoused today, was developed by a generation in the context of the 1950s–1980s. In the 2010s, has systems thinking changed with the world in which it is to be applied? Is systems thinking learning and coevolving with the world? Some contemporary systems thinkers continue to push the frontiers of theory, methods and practice. Others situationally increment the traditions of their preferred gurus, where approaches proven successful in prior experiences are replicated for new circumstances. Founded on interactions with a variety of systems communities over the past 15 years, three ways to rethink systems thinking are proposed: ‘parts and wholes’ snapshots → ‘learning and coevolving’ over time social and ecological → emerged environments of the service economy and the Anthropocene episteme and techne → phronesis for the living and nonlivingThese proposed ways are neither exhaustive nor sufficient. The degree to which systems thinking should be rethought may itself be controversial. If, however, systems thinking is to be authentic, the changed world of the 21st century should lead systems thinkers to engage in a reflective inquiry. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Conceptual Framework for Complex Systems at the Crossroads of Food, Environment, Health, and Innovation

“…The earliest roots of systems thinking are often-perhaps somewhat inaccurately-traced back to ancient Greek philosophy and abstract perspectives on the relations between a metaphysical unity, the whole, and its parts [19,20]. I find it helpful to bear in mind this concept of building blocks (unity, whole, and parts) and of their relationship, for understanding how a systems-thinking approach applied to law can ideally work.…”

Design Flaws and Service System Breakdowns: Learning from Systems Thinking

“…While many individuals may espouse themselves to be systems thinkers, it is not uncommon for them to miss the leading idea of the expansion of systems to larger wholes, in an overemphasis of analysis, the reduction of a system into its parts. Systems thinking is a perspective on parts, wholes, and their relations (Ing, 2013). The most basic concepts of systems thinking are function, structure and process, as shown in Figure 1.…”

“…The training of designers, either implicitly or explicitly, commonly involves some concepts with a long tradition in systems thinking. Much of the body of knowledge for systems thinking is rooted in the pre-Internet, pre-globalization, pre-climate-change period of the 1970s and 1980s (Ing, 2013). Designers may benefit by engaging with the contemporary body of knowledge on systems thinking with researchers and practitioners active in the 21st century.…”

Understanding the Benefits of School Travel: An Educator's Perspective

“…Multiple disciplines have incorporated Aristotle's intellectual virtues into their scholarly work as a means of better understanding learning and knowledge acquisition (Eisner, 2002;Hughes, Mylonas, & Benckendorff, 2013;Ing, 2013;James, Andershed, Gustavsson, & Ternestedt, 2010;Kreber, 2015). For example, in nursing, James et al (2010) conducted a study to examine how their students construct knowledge.…”

“…Furthermore, in industrial engineering, Ing (2013) used Aristotle's virtues as means of mapping systems thinking, suggesting that systems thinking can be categorized into three areas: systems theory (epistme), systems methods (techne), and systems practice (phronesis).…”