Robyn Wrote: re: < 'System' - a collection of elements connected to form a whole. > I suggest that a system is a whole in which there are connections/communications amongst elements in endless feedback loops. And each element is a whole. How is that different to the definition above? Fractals rather than Leggo?
Definitely - wholarchical fractals! Ken Wilber rides again. Robyn, I think you have pointed out the key flaw in the vast majority of what passes for Systems thinking. Bits and pieces linked together like Lego. Perfect! And more than that there is a concentration (obsession?) with externals - The hard countable things of this world. Of course they are all important, but constitute only half of what we need to be thinking about. Ken Wilber offers what I take to be a devastating criticism when he states the obvious - that every outside has an inside (my free translation). For every objective human body on earth there are also interior feelings, hopes and dreams. And for larger entities, like communities, companies and countries we also find such things as culture and myth in addition to GNP. All of this would simply be an abstract academic discussion except for the fact that in the context of the discussion on this list, where the focus is Open Space, and what happens therein - noticing the "interiors" is essential. We know, of course, that very substantial things happen in Open Space. Money gets allocated, products are designed. And ALSO minds are changed, feelings exposed and developed, people grow internally. None of this is news of course, but when it comes to thinking about and describing what happens in Open Space, there is no way to proceed without taking into account the WHOLE system, inside and out. All four quadrants -- in the language of Ken Wilber. When this item was originally posted requesting information about Systems Thinking, I rather jokingly, suggested my own program, The Practice of Peace. But as I think about it - it wasn't quite a joke. We do deal with Systems Thinking at both the macro and micro level - How else would you deal with the totality of the Open Space experience? Or something. Harrison Harrison Owen 7808 River Falls Drive Potomac, Maryland 20845 Phone 301-365-2093 Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com <http://www.openspaceworld.com/> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org Personal website http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hhowen/index.htm [email protected] To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html * * ========================================================== [email protected] ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of [email protected], Visit: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html
