The concept of contradiction in soft systems practice — an illustration
pp. 285-289
in: Robert L. Flood, Michael C. Jackson, Paul Keys (eds), Systems prospects, Berlin, Springer, 1989Abstract
Basically, this chapter addresses the question of whether the explicit thinking in contradictions can be a useful supplement to Soft Systems Methodology (Checkland, 1981). The idea is by Mathiassen who examines system concepts and their implications and limitations (Mathiassen, 1987) by a comparison with the dialectics of Israel (1979). A more detailed version of the arguments in this chapter is given in Nielsen (1988).