The dhammic framework for understanding the cause of system project failures from Buddhist insights

Abstract

Cognitive Informatics (CI) is a transdisciplinary approach to the cognitive and information sciences, emphasising the informational aspects of cognitive processes, with applications in the engineering of complex systems. Human cognition is a transcultural phenomeon, however to date all contributions to CI have been based on Western philosophy and science. In this article, we indicate how some of the fundamental concepts in Buddhist epistemology may be modeled in the CI framework. In particular: we develop a logical specification, in the Z notation, of cognitive processes which occur at levels 1 through 4 of the Layered Reference Model of the Brain (LRMB). We call these processes the Dhammic Framework. As with any axiomatic system, the validity of the Dhammic Framework cannot be proved by experimentation; but it could be invalidated if any of its implications were either logically inconsistent or in disagreement with experimental observation. Our formal statement of the Dhammic Framework will allow its axioms to be tested, scientifically, for contradiction within the framework of cognitive informatics. To this end, we propose a testable hypothesis about a way to avoid failures in systems engineering.