A typology of systems paradoxes

摘要

Philosophers have studied paradoxes for millennia. The term paradox is appearing increasingly outside of philosophy, and researchers seek to understand them in common situations. By understanding these phenomena, systems engineers may develop better strategies to deal with them when encountered in business or projects. However, what is meant by the term systems paradox and are there different types? Towards this goal, this paper will present definitions of systems from systems science and paradox from philosophy in a quest to define systems paradox. A paradox that impacts some objective of a system is designated a systems paradox. Then a typology of systems paradoxes will be proposed and described using set theory. Various examples provide a demonstration of the typology.