MODALITY
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2139 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
A definite level in a classification of levels of action.
A theory of modalities has been introduced by H. DOOYEWEERD, as quoted by D.DE RAADT (1992, p.639). There are 15 levels in DOOYEWEERD's classification (which like any classification is debatable), starting from the “harder” to the “softer”: numeric, spatial, kinematic, physical, biotic, sensitive, analytic, historic, lingual, social, economic, aesthetic, juridical, ethical and pistic (religious belief).
Starting from DOOYEWEERD's proposal, D.DE RAADT introduces “multi-modal thinking”, an “essentially non-reductionistic” approach, which “assumes that for each of the fifteen modalities there is a corresponding epistemology which cannot be supplanted by and is as worthy as the epistemology of another modality… In themselves, no single epistemology is sufficient for a complete knowledge of the universe, but each contributes to a distinct outlook which, when merged with the others, give rise to a multi-modal thinking that discerns an object from every modal angle, leading to a coherent and wise understanding of the object” (Ibid).
Starting from this base, DE RAADT proposes “multi-modal design”, which, for any system, starts by defining the various modal levels of interest, specifies the basic one and leads to an integrative study.