INQUIRING SYSTEMS (Hierarchy of)
Charles François (2004). INQUIRING SYSTEMS (Hierarchy of), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(1): 1713.
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1713 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics, Methodology or model |
J.van GIGCH integrates inquiring systems into a more general process of knowledge formation: “The hierarchy of conceptual levels where higher levels of logic lend metarationality to lower levels can also be found in the process of knowledge formation… The hierarchy consists of four levels:
- “Level 1: Or Template:Ency uline'slevel , provides us with facts from observations of the real world. The problem of universe of discourse of level 1 consists of making choices among those facts to prepare a descriptive model of the universe of discourse.
- “'Level 2: (the observer'sTemplate:Ency uline} ), the descriptive'model is elaborated into an explanatoryTemplate:Ency textit \term.{ Here the problem consists of making}choices among descriptive'models to elaborateTemplate:Ency textit and the most plausibleTemplate:Ency textit }\term{\textit{model} which accounts for the observed'facts \term.{}
- “Level 3: (Template:Ency ulinedesigner's level ), explanatory models become prescriptive models. The designer's universe of discourse or problem is to convert explanatory models into prescriptive models'' or theories. The role of an explanatory model is to merely account for a system's behavior ex-post, whereas the role of a prescriptive model is to anticipate its behavior ex-ante.
- “Level 4: (Template:Ency ulineepistemologist's level ), choice among prescriptive models or theories leads to the elaboration of an epistemological model'', or paradigm” (1986b, p.92-3).
This is the general recipe for inquirers and designers to avoid being nasve.