Foresight Dictionary

Translations

English: Systems thinking

Systems thinking

Systems thinking is one way to get a hold over the complexity of social reality. The systems thinking approach is an holistic approach that focuses on the way that a system's constituent parts relate and how systems work over time and within the context of larger systems. It can be contrasted with reductionism, which studies social reality by breaking it down into a limited number of separate elements that behave in a regular manner. Systems thinking is often used in foresight that aims to account for the deep uncertainty of the future, due to complexity of the societal and physical systems. Systems thinking can be used in any area of research and has been applied to studies of medical, environmental, political, economic, human resource and educational systems, among many others.

Sources

System thinking definition.