A Definition of Systems Thinking: A Systems Approach

TLDR

Systems thinking has many definitions, yet a unified set of core components remains undetermined; it is deemed essential for addressing future complexity but is still marginal in education. This research seeks to supply a comprehensive definition of systems thinking to facilitate its mainstream educational adoption. The authors derived the definition by reviewing literature and applying systems thinking to itself, then tested its fidelity against a system test and three archetypes, integrating key components holistically.

Abstract

This paper proposes a definition of systems thinking for use in a wide variety of disciplines, with particular emphasis on the development and assessment of systems thinking educational efforts. The definition was derived from a review of the systems thinking literature combined with the application of systems thinking to itself. Many different definitions of systems thinking can be found throughout the systems community, but key components of a singular definition can be distilled from the literature. This researcher considered these components both individually and holistically, then proposed a new definition of systems thinking that integrates these components as a system. The definition was tested for fidelity against a System Test and against three widely accepted system archetypes. Systems thinking is widely believed to be critical in handling the complexity facing the world in the coming decades; however, it still resides in the educational margins. In order for this important skill to receive mainstream educational attention, a complete definition is required. Such a definition has not yet been established. This research is an attempt to rectify this deficiency by providing such a definition.