Page 43 - META

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ISSN 2309-0103 www.archidoct.net
Vol. 7 (2) / February 2020
interconnected aspects that constitute it, and to describe the design through an exploration of relationships.
Etymologically, “1610s, “the whole creation, the universe,” from Late Latin systema “an arrangement, system,” from Greek sys- tema “organized whole, a whole compounded of parts,” from stem of synistanai “to place together, organize, form in order,” from syn- “together” (see syn-) + root of histanai “cause to stand,” from PIE root *sta- “to stand, make or be firm”(Online Etymology Dictionary, 2019).
And when there is an extension of the limits of a system, we say that we are in the presence of a meta-system: it turns out that a former system is now a more complex one, with new el- ements and links. Butas we stated above, this implies an appre- ciation of the “prior” + the “subsequent”, not only in the sense of “post”, but also in the sense of “with” and “alongside”. Bourri- aud’s (2009, pp.53) ‘The Radicant’ book talks about a “nomadic” or fluid style of thought that is structured in terms of circuits and experiments rather in terms of perpetuation.
So, to our mind, the meta-system is a hybrid condition be- tween systems and pre-systems: first of allwe are interpreters or architects of a world as a system, and then we go one step further in a new reading that coexists with the previous one, so that we maintain the position of the one who builds and is also built by what surrounds us.
This meta-systemic approach enables rethinking how we analyse and design the world andrespond to previously irre- solvable problems. This establishes a new way of dealing with issues, not as part of a new theory1, as Rosnay explains, but rather based on a different methodology that categorizes in- formation by investigating the interrelationships between the elements in an organization (Rosnay, 1975).
This is closely linked to the meaning of meta-, because revisited systems start withthe deconstruction (in the Derridean sense) of the usual paths. They originate from the incorporation of qualities of tangled reality, intermingling “heterarchical” levels and sublevels, overlapping meanings (McCulloch, [1945/1989), achieved from a modern perspective, even when it has existed since Ancient times.
Rationalism and Scientific Method
Descartes developed his scientific method (1637) based on the logical and experimental study of phenomena, and the irrefut-
1. In this respect, although the first systemic approach dates back to the origins of philosophy, and also way back in science, it wasn’t until the second half of the twentieth century that it ac- quired the guise of formal knowledge.
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Systemic Considerations. Regarding the Importance of the Pre- in the Post- on the Path Towards the Meta-system
Adolfo Jordán