A paper by Mossio, Bich and Moreno (https://t.co/iZPapik4cp; for pdf https://t.co/kxTPu2lRpE), talking about part-whole relations in the context of emergence, some issues with some forms of top-down causation, and arguing for organizational closure as an emergent causal regime. pic.twitter.com/Xw612Yfq1g
Original Article | Published: 31 July 2013 Volume 78, pages 153–178, (2013) Cite this article
Matteo Mossio, Leonardo Bich & Alvaro Moreno
Abstract
In this paper, we advocate the idea that an adequate explanation of biological systems requires appealing to organizational closure as an emergent causal regime. We first develop a theoretical justification of emergence in terms of relatedness, by arguing that configurations, because of the relatedness among their constituents, possess ontologically irreducible properties, providing them with distinctive causal powers. We then focus on those emergent causal powers exerted as constraints, and we claim that biological systems crucially differ from other natural systems in that they realize a closure of constraints, i.e. a second-order emergent regime of causation such that the constituents, each of them acting as a constraint, realize a mutual dependence among them, and are collectively able to self-maintain. Lastly, we claim that closure can be justifiably taken as an emergent regime of causation, without admitting that it inherently involves whole-parts causation, which would require to commit to stronger ontological and epistemological assumptions.
Upcoming event from Systems Change Educators United. Daniela Papi-Thornton on LinkedIn:
“Have you read “Thinking in Systems” by Donella Meadows? Or have you had it on your shelf for years and always wanted to read it? Now is your chance to read, or reread this formative book.
Marta Ceroni who runs the Donella Meadows Institute and the Academy for Systems Change will host the book debrief on May 13th… so read up! This call is open to all! See you there!”
Kristof Van Assche, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada, Gert Verschraegen, Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, University of Antwerp, Belgium and Monica Gruezmacher, University of Alberta, Canada
In this Concise Introduction, Kristof Van Assche, Gert Verschraegen and Monica Gruezmacher provide an accessible explanation of the complex genealogy of systems thinking. Covering both social and natural sciences, the authors present the key implications of this perspective for the understanding and transformation of systems and their context.
For those interested, there is a particular systems methodology called (for rather obscure reasons) Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, or CHAT for short. CHAT was developed by Mike Cole and Yrjö Engestrom. Etienne Wenger later of Communities of Practice and Situated Learning fame, was also involved in the early days. CHAT is based on the idea that if systems approaches are intended to be opportunities for learning, then why not develop a systems methodology based on learning theories. In this case, it was based on Vygotsky’s ideas of learning as a social process. CHAT is a fascinating approach that has strongly influenced my practice, but in essence is based on the idea that an individual’s journey to fulfilling a need is mediated by the tools they use (including language), the rules of the community they are part of and the roles that they play in that community. How an individual learns how to fulfill that need is dependent on how they addresses and resolve the contractions within and between tool, rules, roles and needs. Now expand this into a work setting (ie a community of practice) where people are working on the same activity but fullfilling different needs, and you have a whole bunch more contradictions that need to be addressed, as this article so succinctly describes. CHAT is frequently used in high risk environments especially concerning health and safety issues, where contradictions abound. If anyone is interested to find out more, there is a description of CHAT in my book System Diagrams, along with the questions that CHAT addresses. The book is donationware (ie free but you can pay something if you wish) and can be downloaded from https://bobwilliams.gumroad.com
This inspired me to do a little run on CHAT – and also links to
From Heraclitus’s river to second-order cybernetics — twenty-five centuries of ideas about wholes, parts, flux, feedback, and the organised complexity of the living world.
SYSTEMSLITERACY.ORG The History of Systems Thinking From Heraclitus’s river to second-order cybernetics — twenty-five centuries of ideas about wholes, parts, flux, feedback, and the organised complexity of the living world.
Systems Community of Inquiry 
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