Dialogue sur la problématique
Extending the proverbial coffee break
Today, I am setting up for a diary series documenting my participation in the upcoming Problematique Dialogue, May 10 to 15, at OCAD University, organized by David Ing at sLab. This immersive experience will apply the Bánáthy Conversation Methodology for generative dialogue developed 50 years ago in Austria.
There are three main components intertwining to create the backbone for this immersion:
1. Béla Bánáthy Conversations
The event organizers studied directly with Béla H. Bánáthy, Hungarian-American veteran, refugee, educator, systems scientist, and author. Apparently known for is language instruction, Bánáthy specialized in leadership and learning systems (according to Wikipedia). The International Federation for Systems Research (formerly Fuschl Conversations) summarize Béla’s 1980 Conversations as: a collectively guided, disciplined inquiry; a themed exploration of issues of social/societal significance; engaged by scholarly practitioners in self-organized teams; initiated in the course of a preparation phase that leads to an intensive face-to-face learning phase (Edson, 2015). This method is an approach to designing human social systems through conversation and dialogue (Metcalf, 2008). Béla’s goal was to create safe space for collaborative dialogue that promoted inquiry and innovation (Edson, 2015). Historically, Conversations took place in Fuschl and Pernegg, Austria.
Conversations are:
Collectively guided, disciplined inquiry;
Themed exploration of issues of social/societal significance;
Engaged by scholarly practitioners in self-organized teams;
Initiated by a preparation phase that leads to an intensive face-to-face learning phase
Béla Bánáthy Conversations
2. Dialogue
I will be fortunate enough to be learning alongside academics who have been developing systems theory as a scientific discipline. One of whom is Gary Metcalf. Gary is an American systems scientist, organizational theorist, management consultant, and university professor living in Kentucky, U.S.. Gary started his career as a family therapist which has significant influence on his interpretation of complex system dynamics. Gary has written that “Generative dialogue opens possibilities by creating a deeper sense of understanding between the people involved, which often leads to new connections between ideas or ways of thinking, and a sense of trust which makes the sharing of ideas feel less threatening than it might otherwise.” He goes on to explain, “When effective, generative dialogue fosters a sense of shared commitment amongst the individuals involved,” (Metcalf, 2008).
Gary and David met through the original Fuschl Conversations. Together, they are bringing Béla Bánáthy Conversations and systems science into the 21st century. Part new-world philosophizing and part intergenerational knowledge exchange.
3. Problématique
Conceived by David Ing, the sLab facilitated Conversations are themed around the concept of a problématique. David is a Canadian systems scientist, business architect, management consultant, and marketing scientist and co-founder of Systems Thinking Ontario. En français, la problématique refers to a set of interconnected problems and difficulties. More contemporarily (and in English) these are referred to as wicked problems or polycrises. In systems thinking, we call this complexity.
David and Gary have observed that systems science has become overly mechanistic, perhaps neglecting the ‘socio’ parts of Social-Technical Systems and completely disregarding Socio-Psychological Systems and Socio-Ecological Systems (Ing and Metcalf, 2023). They identify two parallel actions characterizing the development of systems thinking from the 1950s through the 1990s:
Sciencing in pursuit of better answers
Philosophizing in pursuit of better questions
Come the 21st century, and in response to their call to rethink systems thinking, Ing and Metcalf (2023) add a complementary activity to create Systems Changes Learning:
Arting is complementary to sciencing for its way of rendering experience intelligible
Both advocate for creativity and post-colonial features to be “swept in” to the history of sciencing on systems practices, theories and methods (Ing and Metcalf, 2023).
I am going to need a lot of fuel for this extended coffee break. If you want to support my writing and research, consider buying my a coffee or sweet treat.
Are you following my writing and have yet to subscribe. Why not now?
Connecting & Agreeing
I learned about the 2026 Problematique Dialogue through the Canadian Foresight Network. It interested me because the Team Brown topic is the same as the topic of my Major Research Project (MRP). In this case, the topic is framed as sociocultural solidarity, diversity, and plurality in the context of challenges around heritage, identity, demographics, and climate change. The challenges that are alluded to, I think, are related to questions surrounding globalization and urbanization. La problématique in question appears to be “decomplexification.” The recruitment site for the Dialogue boldly states “We live in an era of deglobalization. From a systems perspective, this reversal of the 20th century trend towards complexification, towards decomplexification.”
Styled as a “week-long coffee break,” the upcoming Problematique Dialogue will be my first opportunity to talk (using my voice) at any length about what I am learning through my independent research. Outside of my writing and planning with my advisor, I have yet to see how other people receive and respond to my ideas. This is an opportunity to reconnect with the cool people I saw on the invitee list as well as establish new connections with disciplinary experts and elders.
Another event organizer, Judith Rosen, will be present to pass on knowledge for the biological bases of Anticipatory Systems Theory. Rooted in the relational biology of Robert Rosen, Judith has written about the universal nature of model-making in temporal reasoning—an inherent entailment or modeling relation (Rosen, 2022). This organizational principle is, for the Rosens, applied at every level and scale of the universe (Rosen, 2022). For Judith, humans themselves are the amalgamation of two Anticipatory Systems with different encoded models for operation: a somatic, biological system and a consciously aware mind (2022). Dysfunction comes from a mismatch between organizational models (Rosen, 2022). Our being Dual Anticipatory Systems helps explain many phenomena where the mind can override somatic circumstances: gender dysphoria, post-traumatic stress disorder, placebo and nocebo effects for examples (Rosen, 2022).
I wonder how all of these things will come together?
Next Steps for Learning
Ce dialogue sur la problématique, as I have come to think of it, is precisely aligned with my Major Research Project and the new way of learning and expressing I have developed over the course of my studies. This auto-ethnographic diary series will model my experience and learning throughout the immersive residency.
I hope to be able to introduce some of my recent findings regarding social cohesion and Canadian public life. This could be a good time to test Canadian definitions of social cohesion, determine the actors and actants involved, and consider the relationships between the trends I’ve observed.
I will leave a note of the triggering question that my team develops when the time comes. The question will be used trigger our conversational dialogue. From there, it is up to those of us in the room to pose good questions, offer good answers, and create models that encode our understanding.
Stay tuned…
References
Edson, M. C. (2015, September). What is the IFSR Conversation?. Official Newsletter of the International Federation for Systems Research.
Ing, D., & Metcalf, G. (2023). Reframing Systems Thinking for systems changes : Sciencing and philosophizing from pragmatism towards processes as rhythms. Aalto University’s research portal.
Metcalf, Gary S. 2008. “Dialogue and Ecological Engineering in Social Systems Design.” Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Meeting of the ISSS - 2008, Madison, Wisconsin 3 (1).
Pierre, D. N., & Ing, D. (2026, March 25). Introduction to the 2026 Problematique Dialogue. Personal correspondence.
Pierre, D. N., & Metcalf, G. (2026, March 26). Dialogic Methods. Personal correspondence.
Rosen, J. (2022). Robert Rosen’s Anticipatory Systems Theory: The Science of Life and Mind. Mathematics, 10(22), 4172. https://doi.org/10.3390/math10224172