Affiliations: US Federal Aviation Administration, WJH Technical
Center, NJ, USA | School of Systems & Enterprises, Stevens
Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA | Analytic Services, Inc. Arlington, VA, USA
Abstract: 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.
