OUTBREEDING
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2446 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Human sciences, Epistemology, ontology or semantics |
In a strongly worded critique of social sciences methodology , M. MARUYAMA signals one of the most unsatisfactory characteristics of much contemporary specialized disciplines, which is “inbreeding”, i.e. the wide ignorance of anything that lies (or seems to lie) outside of the rigidly established limits of their discipline. This leads unavoidly to “tunnel vision ”and conceptual isolation (1998, p. 91-108)
Obviously he proposes “outbreeding” i.e. the crossing of disciplinarian boundaries, as a convenient cure.
MARUYAMA himself “outbred” not only scientifically, but also culturally, during many years, having lived in various European and American countries and, of course, Japan.
Outbreeding of any type triggers a process of questionning one own's concepts and frames of references , which are in many cases unable to contain different ways of understanding …and even of perception.
If one freely accepts outbreeding, one's original mental and psychical frames come under stress , sometimes even severe. However, at the same time, adaptiveness increases and wider and richer frames of references can be constructed.
It is surely not coincidental that many-maybe most- of the outstanding founding fathers of cybernetics and systems thinking have been expatriates.