Primacy of the Whole

Description

Bob Powell, 9/01/06

"Systems principles indicate that we must give real weight to the collective aspect of reality ... to the "primacy of the whole.'

First, systems have emergent properties that are not associated with any of the parts.

An example of an emergent property is wetness. Neither hydrogen nor oxygen has this property, but in combination as H2O, water is wet. We can consider consciousness itself to be an emergent property … examining individual neurons in a person's brain doesn't reveal consciousness.

As Peter Senge notes: "Dividing an elephant in half does not produce two small elephants. Living systems have integrity. Their character depends on the whole. The same is true for organizations; to understand the most challenging managerial issues requires seeing the whole system that generates the issues."

Second, a fundamental principle of system dynamics states that the structure of the system gives rise to its behavior. The inability to see the power of systemic effects is so powerful that there's a name for it. It's known as the "fundamental attribution error." (http://www.exponentialimprovement.com/cms/primacy.shtml)

Discussion

by Kai Larsen et al.:

"David Bohm compares the attempt to understand the whole by putting the pieces together with trying to assemble the fragments of a shattered mirror. It is simply not possible. Kofman & Senge add:

- "The defining characteristic of a system is that it cannot be understood as a function of its isolated components. First, the behavior of the system doesn't depend on what each part is doing but on how each part is interacting with the rest ... Second, to understand a system we need to understand how it fits into the larger system of which it is a part ... Third, and most important, what we call the parts need not be taken as primary. In fact, how we define the parts is fundamentally a matter of perspective and purpose, not intrinsic in the nature of the 'real thing' we are looking at." ( Kofman and Senge, 1993, p. 27 )

In his prominent book, The Fifth Discipline, Senge identified some learning disabilities associated with the failure to think systemically. He classified them under the following headings:

   "I am my position"

   "The enemy is out there"

   "The illusion of taking charge"

   "The fixation on events"

   "The parable of the boiled frog"

- "The delusion of learning from experience" ( 1990, pp. 17 - 26 )

Although each of these contains a distinct message, illustrated how traditional thinking can undermine real learning by following up on one example: "the fixation on events."

According to Senge, fragmentation has forced people to focus on snapshots to distinguish patterns of behavior in order to explain past phenomena or to predict future behavior. This is essentially the treatment used in statistical analysis and econometrics, when trying to decipher patterns of relationship and behavior. However, this is not how the world really works: events do not dictate behavior; instead, they are the product of behavior. What really causes behavior are the interactions between the elements of the system. In diagrammatic form:

- systems ( patterns of relationships ) ---> patterns of behavior ---> events ( snapshots )

It is commonly recognized that the power of statistical models is limited to explaining past behavior, or to predict future trends ( as long as there is no significant change in the pattern of behavior observed in the past ). These models have little to say about changes made in a system until new data can be collected and a new model is constructed. Thus, basing problem-solving upon past events is, at best, a reactive effort.

On the other hand, systems modeling is fundamentally different. Once the behavior of a system is understood to be a function of the structure and of the relationships between the elements of the system, the system can be artificially modified and, through simulation, we can observe whether the changes made result in the desired behaviors. Therefore, systems thinking, coupled with modeling, constitutes a generative --rather than adaptive-- learning instrument.5

Thus, according to Senge:

- "Generative Learning cannot be sustained in an organization if people's thinking is dominated by short-term events. If we focus on events, the best we can ever do is predict an event before it happens so that we can react optimally. But we cannot learn to create. "( 1990, p. 22 ) (http://www.leader-values.com/Content/detail.asp?ContentDetailID=188)