Chapter Two. Systems Principles
To understand the behavioral characteristics of multi-minded systems we need a system of systems concepts. Five systems principles — openness, purposefulness, multidimensionality, emergent properties, and counterintuitive behavior — form an interactive whole that together define the essential characteristics and underlying assumptions about the nature of a sociocultural system. They are the building blocks of the mental model needed to become a systems thinker and designer.
These principles are an integral part of the third-generation systems thinking. Their implications will be present in every aspect of systems methodology, from defining problems to designing solutions. Systems methodology is impotent if isolated ...