heterodoxological dialecticJohn,

I am not sure what you mean by the dialectic 'actually working' but I have 
co/written a number of papers using dialectical concepts to explain issues 
in information systems.

Here are the abstracts:

DIALECTICS AND MODELLING IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS
ABSTRACT
Dialectical method is a way of understanding the world, which focuses 
centrally on the concepts of change, interconnection, and contradiction. The 
basic principles of dialectics are explained and their relevance to IS shown 
by examining the consequences of a dialectical understanding of the process 
of human conceptualisation for modelling and abstraction processes. This is 
illustrated by reference to recognised problems in the areas of data 
modelling and the proving of systems correctness. Dialectics is suggested to 
be an indispensable element in a critical account of information systems 
development.


CONTEXTUALISM IS NOT ENOUGH: TOWARDS AN ONTOLOGICAL FOUNDATION FOR CRITICAL 
INFORMATION SYSTEMS RESEARCH
ABSTRACT
The relationship between 'macro context' and less general levels of social 
reality is key to Critical IS research. It cannot be reduced to questions of 
scope or scale. This paper outlines the requirements for a critical ontology 
by examining some non-critical approaches to context in IS and deriving from 
them some requirements that a critical approach must fulfil. It will be 
suggested that these requirements can be met by a combination of concepts 
from dialectics, theories of emergence and Cultural-Historical Activity 
Theory.

SOFT SYSTEMS METHODOLOGY AND DIALECTICS IN AN INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT: A 
CASE-STUDY OF THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN
ABSTRACT
In the Checkland and Holwell (1998) book Information, Systems and 
Information Systems an explanatory framework for soft systems methodology 
(SSM) is supported by the deployment of a case study of the Battle of 
Britain. In this paper the authors conduct an analysis of this historical 
account and  identify the failure of SSM to provide an adequate explanation 
of these historical events. It is argued, that through the use of 
materialist dialectics, a more satisfactory understanding of the nature of 
the processes of abstraction and the bounding of problems and systems 
becomes available. Concepts from dialectics are applied to show how, and 
why, the differences between the two accounts reflect different methods of 
conceptualisation of an information environment. In this light, we point to 
similarities and differences between the two meta-frameworks used: SSM and 
materialist dialectics.
(Key words: Soft Systems , Dialectics, Information Systems Boundaries.

In the first and third papers we particularly use Bertell Ollman's work, 
particularly his notion of the three forms of abstraction to critique the 
assumptions made in information systems development. The second and third 
articles also focus on the concept of totality.

I don't know if this is what you meant, but if you (or anyone else) want a 
copy of these papers, I'll email them to you.

I have also tried teaching the basic concepts of dialectics to a group of 
comrades but this proved quite difficult!

Bruce Robinson


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Lindsay, John M
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2006 12:36 PM
Subject: heterodoxological dialectic


I wonder whether anyone on this list actually tries to use,  or teach, 
dialectic?


Not in the simple sense of a course on the history of marxism, or even in 
the sense it appears in wikipedia, but actually working?

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