January 9 (the second Monday of the month) is the 106th meeting for Systems Thinking Ontario. The registration is at https://root-metaphors.eventbrite.ca .
2023-01-09
January 9 (the second Monday of the month) is the 106th meeting for Systems Thinking Ontario. The registration is at https://root-metaphors.eventbrite.ca .
A Root Metaphor is induced from a World Hypothesis. Coming from a theory of knowledge based in doubt, a World Hypothesis might approach a World Theory (e.g. a theory of everything), but a philosophical inquiry focused on evidence invokes a more critical eye.
The January 9 session will see David Ing roaming over the wiki site, with Zaid Khan serving as an inquiring critic to improve understandability. Dan Eng will moderate questions and comments from the audience.
FRIDAY–> Consulting for Systems Practice Interventions https://bit.ly/3i7ONQb
Facilitation Skills for Systems Practice Interventions https://bit.ly/3jLXyzV
Consulting for Systems Practice Interventions https://bit.ly/3VIN5CD
Predictions of emergent phenomena, appearing on the macroscopic layer of a complex system, can fail if they are made by a microscopic model. This study demonstrates and analyses this claim on a well-known complex system, Conway’s Game of Life. Straightforward macroscopic mean-field models are easily capable of predicting such emergent properties after they have been fitted to simulation data in an after-the-fact way. Thus, these predictions are macro-to-macro only. However, a micro-to-macro model significantly fails to predict correctly, as does the obvious mesoscopic modeling approach. This suggests that some macroscopic system properties in a complex dynamic system should be interpreted as examples of phenomena (properties) arising from “strong emergence,” due to the lack of ability to build a consistent micro-to-macro model, that could explain these phenomena in a before-the-fact way. The root cause for this inability to predict this in a micro-to-macro way is identified as the pattern formation process, a phenomenon that is usually classified as being of “weak emergence.” Ultimately, this suggests that it may be in principle impossible to discriminate between such distinct categories of “weak” and “strong” emergence, as phenomena of both types can be part of the very same feedback loop that mainly governs the system’s dynamics.
In the light of increased organizational and environmental complexity, research turns ever more often to the notion of paradox to investigate how managers can navigate conflicting demands. However, the internal dynamics of paradox remain unclear, making it difficult to understand what exactly is meant by the concept, and how it can be managed in practice. This article notes that the full potential of paradox as an analytical tool for understanding complex situations of organizational life has not been reached, and reveals instances of organizational complexity that appear even more radical than current definitions of paradox posit. Using the sociologist Niklas Luhmann’s concepts of distinction and re-entry, we unfold the complexity of such situations and develop a typology that includes a novel type of paradox that appears underexplored. Illustrating several different ways that opposites can appear interdependent, interwoven, persistent, and synergistic, we contribute to theory- building within paradox research. Finally, we discuss our findings and managerial implications and point towards future research.”
According to Mary Midgley, philosophy is like plumbing: like the invisible entrails of an elaborate plumbing system, philosophical ideas respond to basic needs that are fundamental to human life. Melioristic projects in philosophy attempt to fix or reroute this plumbing. An obstacle to melioristic projects is that the sheer familiarity of the underlying philosophical ideas renders the plumbing invisible. Philosophical genealogies aim to overcome this by looking at the origins of our current concepts. We discuss philosophical concepts developed in Indigenous cultures as a source of inspiration for melioristic genealogy. Examining the philosophical concepts of these communities is useful because it gives us a better idea of the range of ethical, political, and metaphysical approaches that exist in the world. Members of western societies do not get a clear view of this range, in part because living in large groups presents its own constraints and challenges, which limit philosophical options. We argue that features of Indigenous philosophies, such as egalitarianism and care for one’s natural environment, are not inevitable byproducts of Native material conditions and lifestyles, but that they are deliberate forms of conceptual engineering. We propose that comparative philosophy is an integral part of the genealogical project.
President’s Series 24: Cybernetics and the Church, Discovering CyberneticsRev. Dr. Keith Elford reflects on his recently completed doctoral thesis while subsequently we will reflect on discovering cyberneticsByCybernetics Society — President’s Series
The Center Leo Apostel for Transdisciplinary Studies (CLEA) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), organises its first international artscience symposium: ‘Systems At Play: The Self-Organising Symposium on Self-Organisation’ in Brussels from February 15 to 18, 2023.The symposium starts from the idea that art and science are mutually beneficial means of perception and insight creation. It thus provides a transdisciplinary contact zone for artists and scientists to meet, exchange, think, share, take time, and, ultimately, play together.
Then, what shall we talk and play about? Well, it’s up to you where it ends up, but our starting points are the ideas of ‘emergence’, ‘self-organisation’, and ‘goal-directedness’. More specifically, participating artists and scientists are invited to collectively tackle creative challenges in an embodied way. We will feed and facilitate this process with presentations, conversations, workshops and live games during the day, and performances, talks and film screenings during the evening.
Rather than simply organise a symposium simply about self-organisation, we are attempting to organise a self-organising symposium on self-organisation, one that determines its own final goals through all our interactions together. We recognize that we cannot fully predict the processes, outcomes and final goal, nor do we want to. The symposium will become a shared research object, as well as a strange loop in which topic and method merge and multiply.
Artists and scientists are invited to participate through two open calls: one, to participate in the symposium; and two, to participate as well as prepare an input presentation, in the form of a talk, performance, interactive game, or film screening.
For more (practical) info on how to apply and more, please visit our event page!
Systems Community of Inquiry 
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