BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

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PANACEA 2)4)

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"A simple-and simple minded-solution for a problem" (adapted from R.L. ACKOFF, 2001, p.9)

So-called "recipes", "magic bullets"or "quick fixes"are all panaceas.

Good examples of panaceas are:

- Political slogans and unsubstancial generalities about "problems"in education, public health, security, development, etc., without any serious study of the obstacles, and of practical means to overcome them without creating side effects.

- Theories about management- as for example "re-engineering", "outsourcing", "downsizing", organizational learning" – that could be useful only if applied thougthfully to really well-understood and significant issues and specific cases.

Generally much simplifying and out of context panaceas are of scant value for addressing practical cases. They could be useful only if applied in an adaptive and readaptive way to a well studied issue or situation and with the well organized help from all the stakeholders.

Even so, there is an absolute need for a cyclically reiterative consideration of results and revalidation of our general model as a good representation of the issue and of our own understanding about what we are trying to achieve, and in which way.

On the contrary"panaceas are about doing things right, not doing the right things"(Ibid, p.9)

In fact, the "panacea" problem cannot be avoided until we make ourselves able to distinguish what are the "right things" to do. WARFIELD's generic design methodology offers practical ways for avoiding underconceptualization and misunderstanding (brought about for ex. by clanthink, groupthink, blindspots, etc.) LINSTONE and MITROFF's "unbounded systems thinking"is also very useful, as well as CHECKLAND's soft systems methodology and the critical systems thinking offered by JACKSON, FLOOD and their Hull and Humberside colleagues.

In short, a naive belief in panaceas results from a lack of critical understanding, mainly of one's own implicit illusions. Ackoff's final comment is that the market for panaceas "the weak sisters of fundamentalism" is still very large"(Ibid)

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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