Affiliations: [a] Northumbria University, School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences, Pandon Building, Camden Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE2 1XE, UK. Tel.: +44 191 2437632; E-mail: petia.sice@unn.ac.uk | [b] School of Science and Technology, University of Teesside, Middlesbrough, TS1 3BA, UK. Tel.: +44 1642 342548; E-mail: I.French@tees.ac.uk | [c] Department of Physics, The Technical University of Denmark, DK-2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark. E-mail: erik.mosekilde@fysik.dtu.dk
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Corresponding author.
Abstract: The application of any modelling method without reflection on the underpinning assumptions is flawed. What is more, such an approach is bound to lead us to an incomplete understanding of the situation under consideration, since it places “restrictions” on the ways we question the validity of the knowledge unearthed in the application of the method. Thus, creative interpretation becomes limited. The paper considers this problem. It draws on insights from cognitive science, autopoiesis, management cybernetics and non-linear dynamics and outlines a philosophical frame-of-reference for modelling management systems. It emphasises the importance of epistemological reflection and the need to consider modelling as a cognitive act that requires the inclusion of the observer as part of the inquiry and the development and use of a systemic language within the situation of concern.
Keywords: Modelling of social systems, systems thinking, cybernetics, autopoiesis, self-organisation, chaos theory
