Abstract
The models upon which research and education in many of the social sciences are built assume the primacy of quantitative methods in decision making. Furthermore, they are based on assumptions that are probably obsolete or that have suffered drastic change in the last 100 years. In general, these assumptions are based on an epistemology that is (1) positivistic, (2) mechanistic, and (3) reductionist. By this we mean the following:
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1.
Positivistic refers to a school of thought, popular in the late 19th century, which assumed that, given time, science would solve all major riddles and would provide society with the key well-being for all
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2.
Mechanistic means that most phenomena are machine-like artifacts (see Glossary) devoid of biological and behavioral attributes.
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3.
Reductionist is associated with the mechanistic view, according to which problems can be solved by breaking down (analyzing) systems into their component parts, much as a machine is disassembled for repair.
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van Gigch, J.P. (1991). The Modern View of Reality. In: System Design Modeling and Metamodeling. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0676-2_2
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