Critical Systems Thinking

1The Scientific Method

Inquire of ancient Wisdom; go, demand

Of mighty Nature, if 'twas ever meant

That we should pry far off yet be unraised;

That we should pore, and dwindle as we pore,

Viewing all objects unremittingly

In disconnection dead and spiritless;

And still dividing, and dividing still,

Break down all grandeur …

(Wordsworth, 1814)

1.1 Introduction

This chapter outlines the achievements and limitations of the scientific method, beginning with a brief discussion of early Systems Thinking (ST) and how it was pushed to the margins of reputable thought by the success of the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution began in the sixteenth century with Copernicus’s heliocentric account of the cosmos and was consolidated in the early seventeenth century with the establishment of the scientific method based upon mechanism and reductionism. Newton’s Principia, published in 1687, marked its apotheosis. This was a revolution that encompassed remarkable developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, chemistry and biology. It inspired the agricultural and industrial revolutions of the eighteenth century which transformed the world in which we live. The chapter goes on to discuss some of the limitations of the mode of thought underpinning the Scientific Revolution. Recognition of these limitations, and their consequences for humanity and the environment on which we depend, has led to a positive reassessment of the value of ST as a complementary approach to the traditional ...