Rethinking the Concept of System: A Hermeneutic and Constructivist Reinterpretation of Bertalanffy’s General System Theory

Repenser le concept de système: une relecture herméneutique et constructiviste de la théorie générale des systèmes de Bertalanffy

Mohamed Ali Abdelwahed ()
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Mohamed Ali Abdelwahed: CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord

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Abstract: This communication offers a hermeneutic reinterpretation of the general systems theory of Ludwig von Bertalanffy, focusing on the epistemological status of the concept of system. Based on an analysis of the internal tensions within Bertalanffy's work, it highlights a fundamental ambivalence between an ontological conception of the system as a structure of reality and an implicit conception of the system as a framework of intelligibility. To shed light on this tension, the communication draws on the contributions of genetic constructivism developed by Jean Piaget, the constructivist systems theory of Jean-Louis Le Moigne, and the theory of complexity proposed by Edgar Morin. This theoretical dialogue leads to a reconfiguration of the concept of system as a situated epistemic construction, produced through cognitive activity, dependent on interpretive frameworks, and embedded in an open-ended dynamic. The communication thus contributes to overcoming the opposition between realism and constructivism and renews the understanding of organizational phenomena by inviting us to consider organizations as processes of sensemaking and situated action.

Keywords: Systems Theory; Epistemology; Constructivisim; Hermeneutics; Bertalanffy; Complexité; Herméneutique; Constructivisme; Épistémologie; Théorie des systèmes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-06-13
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Published in Workshop sur le Cinquantenaire de Von Bertalanffy : La systémique, la complexité et la prospective, USPN; A2ID, Jun 2022, Bobigny, France

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