Some radical ideas to explore

Based, in part, on current reading — “Complexity and the Social Sciences: The State of the Art” by Byrne and Callaghan.

Science is not neutral. Because it’s done by humans, it has a point of view. Scientists are not neutral.

Reality is complex. This is not a statement about understanding reality (epistemology), but a statement about the nature of reality (ontology). Scientific methods that simplify complexity — start with assertions of the nature of reality and work from there — are necessarily limited.

Any system (or assemblage) that includes people (such as the healthcare system) is a human system and all human systems are complex.

People in systems know things about their systems. Understanding occurs through ‘dialog’ in which the actors (patients/families, clinicians) in context are part of the production of scientific knowledge. Human systems include people, and people have agency — they do things. Therefore, both the source of knowledge of the system and the source of change in the system derive from those within the system.

Social scientists can join with those in the system to create fuller understanding, a wider range of possible futures, and a narrative that attracts individual and collective agency.