METAMODELING
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 2098 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics, Methodology or model |
- “A process of design which is carried out at the metalevel, and by which we define how the process of modeling (at the object level of abstraction), is to be carried out. (J.van GIGCH, 1992 p.3)
In another work, van GIGCH commented: “Until recently, the accepted approach to problem-solving consisted of the formulation of a model and applying the solution obtained from the model to the real world. However, this methodology bypasses the important step of metamodeling, that is setting the rules of logic by which the model itself is to be designed. Metamodeling, or the Science of Modeling, is involved with designing metamodels and with designing the process of design” (1978, p.3).
In his more recent paper, van GIGCH adds: “Metamodeling defines the epistemology or design foundations of modeling”, (thus establishing the foundations “… of the reasoning process, guarantees of truth, proofs, axioms of validity, or any other logic which underlies a methodology” (Ibid).
Decision making should ever be framed within a metamodeling level, which implicitly involves cultural and social values: It is now time to verify the fitness of any model, specially those of complex systems (frequently very much partial and biased as they are), in order to protect ourselves against the side effects that some important but neglected aspects of the modelized situation may bring in their wake.