Why is a systems view important?

[sbyers@wirb.com]

John Balor ended a recent post by asking why a systems view
of the world is important.  That's the big question,isn't
it?  I read a lot in this area, so I took a little time to
go through some of my favorites to see whether anyone has
"summed it all up" in a way that would appeal to John.

There are many choices, but I settled on Capra's epilogue 
to his book, The Hidden Connections.  It is too long to
quote, because it seems to bring so many things together
so we can grasp the connections.  I do not think we will
find a single metaphor or a single pithy statement that
works for everyone.  As we continue to think and learn, we
each project a changing reality.  So "systems" for me may
not be "systems" for you, but there ought to be a lot of
similarity in our views.

I think another terrific systems thinker is Dr. David Orr.
He is an ecologist, and his system is the world.  I really
recommend his works, whether books or articles in 
Resurgence magazine.

In my view, systems thinking as one's world view is a new
paradigm usually arrived at precipitously, not through
gradual persuasion.  I do not continually seek examples
that would demonstrate the lack of connections, the 
separateness of all things, the isolation of parts.

Steve Byers




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