CLARIFYING THE PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE THAT GROUNDS OUR HUMAN SYSTEMS INQUIRY

摘要

David Bohm believed that science is a mode of perception above and beyond a mode ofrnobtaining knowledge of the laws of nature. It follows that contemporary science shouldrnenable us to perceive differently the methodologies we use to understand human systems.rnThis paper proposes we re-examine Human Systems Inquiry by means of a philosophy ofrnscience informed by scholarship in the new sciences. It argues that our methodologicalrnconsiderations must be derived from our assumptions about ontology and human nature.rnAs scholars wishing to investigate the workings of human systems, our research can be nornstronger than our ability to articulate the philosophy of science underpinning our inquiry.rnWe best serve our research subjects and academic colleagues by voicing ourrnphilosophical assumptions.rnThis paper proposes five ontological principles highlighting the dynamic, interdependent,rnreflexive, whole, and transpersonal logic at work in human systems. It offers fourrncorresponding statements about human nature: human beings are meaning-makers,rnautopoietic structures, members of multiple systems, and operate within the context ofrnfields. Together, this ontology and view of human nature produce methodologicalrnmatrices informing a new mode of perception influencing inquiry into social systems.