{"title":"System Science Traditions: Differing Philosophical Assumptions","authors":"Eric B. Dent","doi":"10.2139/SSRN.2326323","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.2326323","url":null,"abstract":"It is in vogue to \"take a systems approach,\" yet what exactly a systems approach is varies considerably depending upon the systems science tradition examined. Systems science traditions tend to share a set of underlying assumptions which are less common in other scientific fields. Still, philosophical assumptions are not common across systems science traditions. We examine six traditions within systems science -- cybernetics, general systems theory, organizational learning, operations research, total quality management, and system dynamics. We then consider seven underlying assumptions -- self-organization, observation, causality, reflexivity, predictability, environment, and relationships. Finally, we assess where each tradition stands with respect to each of the underlying assumptions.","PeriodicalId":325239,"journal":{"name":"Systems: Journal of Transdisciplinary Systems Science","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2013-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123746977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}