Zen and the Art of Systems Thinking

On June 21, 2017, I had the privilege of speaking to the INCOSE Chesapeake Chapter on the topic of Systems Science, Systems Engineering and Systems Thinking.  That's a lot of Systems. Anyway, I called it by the catchy title, "Zen and the Art of Systems Thinking."  The slides and references are included here (below the video) for those who want to explore my talk in more detail.

I'd like to thank Gundars Osvalds and the rest of the INCOSE-CC Board of Directors for inviting me. I hope the audience enjoyed it as much as I did presenting it. 

Click on the video link below to see the presentation in full.

Paul Martin, ESEP, helps us look at the context of the Systems Thinking paradigm by exploring its history and philosophy. Explaining how this new mode of thought allows engineers to understand the workings of the world better.

Here are my presentation slides

• 2017_07-Paul_Martin--Zen_n_the_Art_of_Systems_Thinking(to Print).pdf

Here are my references:

On Zen

• Pirsig, R. M. (1974). Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance: An inquiry into values. New York: Morrow.

• Ackoff , R.L. (1960). Systems, organizations and interdisciplinary research. General Systems Yearbook 5: 1–8. p. 6

• Lott, T. (2012, September 21). Off-beat Zen. Retrieved January 30, 2017, from https://aeon.co/essays/alan-watts-the-western-buddhist-who-healed-my-mind

• So you want to learn...Zen Buddhism (2002, March 11) Retrieved January 30, 2017, from Guardian News https://www.theguardian.com/education/2002/mar/12/furthereducation.uk5

On Art

• Abumrad, Jad and Robert Krulwich (Host). (2005, March 4). "Beyond Time" [Audio podcast - RadioLab, Season 1, Episode 5]. Retrieved from http://www.radiolab.org/story/91504-beyond-time/

Scientific Revolution texts  (1550-1700)

• Copernicus (1543) De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the revolutions of the celestial spheres)

• Bacon, F. (1620). Novum organum.(New Instrument)

• Descartes, R. (1637) A Discourse on Method

• Newton, I. (1687) Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy)

Other References

• Pirsig, R. M. (1974). Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance: An inquiry into values. New York: Morrow.

• Senge, Peter M. 1990 The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. New York, Doubleday/Currency.

• Goldstein, Jeffrey. (1999) "Emergence As A Construct: History And Issues." Emergence Vol 1 No..1: 49-72.

• Hieronymi, A. (2013), Understanding Systems Science: A Visual and Integrative Approach. Syst. Res., 30: 580–595.

• Sillitto, H. (2012), 4.3.2 Integrating Systems Science, Systems Thinking, and Systems Engineering: understanding the differences and exploiting the synergies. INCOSE International Symposium, 22: 532–547

• Arnold, Ross D., and Jon P. Wade. "A Definition of Systems Thinking: A Systems Approach." Procedia Computer Science 44 (2015): 669-78.

• Dettmer, H. William. "Destruction and Creation: Analysis and Synthesis." Web. Accessed 8 Dec. 2016. Part 3 of 12 articles on systems thinking - http://www.goalsys.com/systemsthinking/

• Checkland, Peter. Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. Chichester: J. Wiley, 1981.

• M'pherson, P. K. "A Perspective on Systems Science and Systems Philosophy." Futures 6.3 (1974): 219-39.

• Castellani B, Hafferty FW. 2009. Sociology and Complexity Science: A New Field of Inquiry. Springer: Berlin. http://www.art-sciencefactory.com/complexity-map_feb09.html [last accessed 2/6/17].