Abstract
Having outlined my own version of process philosophy in the first section of this book, in this second section I discuss methodology— starting, after these introductory few paragraphs, with an answer to the basic question, why methodology? I then move on, in Chapter 6, to consider the meaning of the term ‘systemic intervention’. I argue that all uses of method are interventionary, including scientific methods for structuring observations. However, systemic intervention is something more specific: it refers to intervention that embodies pursuit of the ideal of comprehensiveness. As absolute comprehensiveness is impossible (see the argument in Chapter 3), an adequate methodology for systemic intervention must facilitate considerations of issues of inclusion, exclusion and marginalisation by promoting reflection on boundaries. It should also allow for theoretical and methodological pluralism. An outline methodology for systemic intervention is presented at the end of Chapter 6, which is then fleshed out in subsequent chapters.
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© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Midgley, G. (2000). Why Methodology. In: Systemic Intervention. Contemporary Systems Thinking. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4201-8_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4201-8_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6885-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-4201-8
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