System knowledge matters

Maybe you are wondering why this focus on systems knowledge, as opposed to systems theory, matters. Of course, systems knowledge represents the fundamental, foundational knowledge on which General Systems Theory and Living Systems Theory are based.

The opening statement of the previous blog is not entirely true; more precisely it is only partially true. Humans did arrive on earth to find a fully functioning system but there is more to the story than that. Humans are both a product and a member of this system. They are not outside of the system but are a part of it.

This means that the human species shares the fundamental characteristics with this system both because they were produced by the system and because they are a component of the system.

From the definition of a system that we discussed yesterday, it is axiomatic that it is illogical that a system would seek its own destruction. By extension it is illogical that any natural system would produce a component that would be detrimental to the continued existence of the system. Hence, we can safely say that when humans first arose out of this ecosystem they were in complete harmony with the rest of the system and functioned within the system they way all the other systems did. They were part of symbiotic relationships that resulted in a state of homeostasis.

We became part of the food web but our participation as consumers at the top of most food chains did not place any negative pressure on the system. But now we find ourselves in a situation where humans agree that they have caused many species to become extinct because of our unsustainable development of the system's resources.

Gaining an understanding of systems knowledge should enable us to understand just how it came to be that humans, an integral part of the system they inhabit, now function as if they are foreign elements.