Systems Thinking

We humans are living in a period that is new in the entire history of humankind. We have essentially become a force of nature. The planet itself is being affected by our activities to such an extent that, as some scientists see it, we have been placing such unprecedented pressure on the planet, that we are facing the prospect that the Earth system might no longer support the conditions necessary for the survival of our species The signals are now virtually impossible to ignore. 2023 was the hottest year ever recorded and levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere were at an unparalleled high.  The rates at which glaciers are melting, oceans are warming, sea levels are rising and the incidence of hurricanes and cyclones, plus heat waves of extraordinary intensity, are all increasing. The accelerated rate of species extinction, the desertification and erosion of soils, the continuing loss of biodiversity and the rates of land clearing and deforestation, the increased risk of disease transmission from closer contact with wildlife, and threats of major disruptions to global oceanic currents, while less obvious, are all further amplifying the scale of the crises that we now face.

With such complexity, it is no longer sensible to talk of problems but of a problematical – a complex mess of interdependent critical issues for which we can only seek sustainable improvements, not solutions.

The call is for new ways of thinking and acting that are appropriate to these confronting circumstances with the usefulness of systems thinking and practices being increasingly recognised in this context.

But what are these novel ways of thinking and acting? Ray Ison, who is Richard’s guest in this episode, is someone who is extremely well qualified to provide insights in these domains. Ray is a very distinguished systems scholar and academic, researcher, and innovator educator. He is an Emeritus Professor within the Applied Systems and Thinking Practice group at the Open University in the UK. He has a very extensive list of publications including a number of books and has been an adviser to policymakers.  He is a past president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences among other leadership positions that he has held over the years.