This chapter has made a case for the contribution of critical realism as an underlying philosophy for management science as a practical discipline. It has approached this by showing that critical realism addresses the unresolved problems within the philosophy of science, whether it be natural or social. In particular: the impoverished view of explanatory theory within empiricism; the major critiques of observer- and theory-independence that empiricism assumes; the logical problems of induction and falsificationism; the dislocation between natural and social science; and the radical anti-realist positions adopted by constructivists and postmodernists.

The main points to be taken from this chapter are:

Ontologically, the strongly held claim that there does exist a world independent, to differing degrees, of human beings and that the underlying mechanisms generate the events we observe and experience.
Epistemologically, the fact that we do not have pure, unmediated access to this world but that our knowledge must always be locally and historically relative. But in accepting epistemic relativism we do not thereby accept judgemental relativism—there are grounds for chosing between competing views.
Methodologically, the retroductive approach of hypothesising generative mechanisms that would explain our experiences and then trying to confirm or deny their existence. This underwrites a pluralist view of research and intervention methods which will be explored more fully in Chapters 9 and 10.

Chapter 3:. Living Systems: Autopoiesis

3.6 Conclusions

I think it is hard to overstate the importance of the major concepts that have been developed through the theory of autopoiesis. In particular:

The basic circular and self-referring nature of both physical living systems and the nervous systems that have been such an important evolutionary development. Following from this the identification of the primary unit of biology — the fundamental “living system” — as the individual rather than the species.
The organizational closure of the process of cognition and the implications of this for epistemology.
The inextricable linking of mind and body, of cognition and action, leading to the support for an embodied view of cognition.
A recognition of the importance of the development of languaging as the primary human characteristic, whilst stressing that languge is not essentially representative and denotational but consensual and connotative.
An opening up of the possibility, at least, of considering whether non-physical systems, such as social systems, could also be autopoietic, and the considerable implications that would follow from this.

These will be seen to underlie much of the discussion and debate throughout the rest of this book.

Chapter 4:. Observing Systems: The Question of Boundaries

Knowledge

Action and Intervention

Backmatter

Titel: Realising Systems Thinking: Knowledge and Action in Management Science
verfasst von: John Mingers
Verlag: Springer US
Electronic ISBN: 978-0-387-29841-2
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-28188-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-29841-X

Springer Professional

Realising Systems Thinking: Knowledge and Action in Management Science

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Introduction

Chapter 1:. Introduction

Foundations

Frontmatter

Chapter 2:. Philosophical Foundations: Critical Realism

Chapter 3:. Living Systems: Autopoiesis

Chapter 4:. Observing Systems: The Question of Boundaries

Knowledge

Frontmatter

Chapter 5:. Cognising Systems: Information and Meaning

Chapter 6:. Knowledge and Truth

Chapter 7:. Communication and Social Interaction

Chapter 8:. Social Systems

Action and Intervention

Frontmatter

Chapter 9:. Management Science and Multimethodology

Chapter 10:. The Process of Multimethodology

Chapter 11:. Reprise

Backmatter