The systemic human experience
Understanding our interconnected world through systems thinking
Making sense of the world we live in
Humans have developed cognitive frameworks and systems of understanding (e.g., language, mathematics, science) that allow us to make sense of the world. These frameworks highlight the structured patterns that allow us to navigate reality.
This suggests that the world has patterns and structures that can be comprehended.
On the other hand, the world is also inherently complex, with numerous variables and interconnections that can make it difficult to fully understand or predict outcomes. This complexity can lead to ambiguity, suggesting that not everything is easily intelligible. Perspectives vary greatly among individuals and cultures, influenced by personal experiences, beliefs, and values, adding layers of subjectivity.
I found this quote from John Vervaeke profound, as it touches on meaning (that’s why we want to make sense of the world, right?):
“Meaning in life is the degree to which people feel that connectedness to themselves, to each other, and to the world that alleviates or ameliorates that anxiety, absurdity, and alienation, so that life is worth it to them.”
We make sense of the world through the ways we perceive, process, and prioritize information. The relative intelligibility of our environment shapes our ability to navigate complexity, emphasizing what feels relevant and meaningful in any given moment. This process taps into our cognitive ability to connect key pieces of information, filter out less important details, and dynamically organize our understanding.
It shapes how we make decisions and choose actions, using embodied cognition — where our mind and body work together to interpret and respond to our surroundings.
However, the process of making sense of reality is not static; it cannot be simplified to isolating parts of the world, labeling them, and ranking some information as more significant than others. While certain details may take precedence at any given moment, our understanding is inherently fluid — a dynamic interaction where the observer and the observed participate in a continuous exchange of input and output. This ‘dance’ highlights the interconnected nature of our perception and the reality we perceive.
Plus, we cannot make sense of all different levels of reality without feeling, smelling, tasting, and connecting with the symbolic and poetic nuances of culture and the collective unconscious (a topic for another edition!).
Embodied connectedness is central to our cognitive agency. We are not separate from the world we seek to understand; we are deeply intertwined with it.
Whether we are studying books or examining insects under a microscope, it becomes evident that we cannot truly perceive the world as something external to ourselves.
We are as much a part of the world as it is a part of us.
Analysis
Most of us were taught to think in silos, which means we analyze the world in fragmented ways. This is how subjects like math, history, and biology have taught us to frame reality. Our minds would zoom out, like floating balloons above the real world, to understand, measure, and label it through textbooks and exams.
Analysis follows a reasoning process called reductionism. Reductionism is the process of breaking down or reducing systems into their constituent components and then describing the system as the sum of all the elements.
The process follows as such:
a) Breaking down a system into its constituent parts
b) Analyzing individual components to describe properties
c) Recombining the parts of the original system, which can now be described in terms of the individual elements
Analysis is a powerful tool for understanding and solving problems, as it helps simplify systems or ideas by breaking them down into manageable parts. In academic or scientific research, analysis is the foundation for developing theories, testing hypotheses, and generating new knowledge. On the other hand, when solving simple problems, analyzing a situation or issue it may help identify its causes, contributing factors, and possible solutions.
Let’s say we want to understand how a car works. We could disassemble all the pieces, study them individually, name their properties, and then put them back together. The car would function again, and we’d have a clearer understanding of how the system operates.
The challenge of using analysis to every area of our lives is that it is an insufficient framework for navigating reality. Frameworks are created by humans, who are limited by cognitive capacities, cultural biases, and subjective perspectives. These constraints mean that frameworks may reflect the limitations of their creators, lacking a truly comprehensive view that accounts for every possible aspect of reality. Many frameworks assume a linear, cause-and-effect approach to understanding reality, which may not capture its nonlinear and interconnected nature. Complex systems, like ecosystems or social structures, often behave in unpredictable ways that simple frameworks cannot fully predict or explain.
Let’s be bold and say “All frameworks are insufficient”. And yet, some frameworks are necessary and combining different complementary frameworks is essencial not only for making choices and prioritising actions, but as a means to evolve as a cognisant human being faced with unprecedented levels of complexity.
Synthesis
A complementary framework to analysis for understanding the world we live in is synthesis. Synthesis refers to the process of combining components or elements to form a connected whole, while assuming we are already part of the system we are trying to understand.
It’s a reasoning approach that describes an entity in the context of its relationships within the larger system to which it belongs. Often referred to as holistic reasoning, synthesis is based on the understanding that the parts of something are deeply interconnected and can only be fully explained when considered in relation to the whole.
How synthesis works:
a) Identify the system to which our object of interest belongs.
b) Outline broadly how this system operates.
c) Understand how the parts are interconnected and organized to function as a whole — a totality.
Let’s say we want to understand how a social system like the economy or a natural system like a forest works. If we try to apply the analysis framework, we quickly encounter limitations. Why?
For starters, these systems are living organisms. Every change in one part of the system affects all other parts, creating feedback loops that continuously influence and reshape the system. Secondly, when we analyze a living system by breaking it down into parts, we’re essentially taking a snapshot of a constantly evolving and creative reality. This reality is governed by an intelligence of its own — one that cannot be fully captured by simply describing its individual components.
These types of systems are known as complex systems. As the number of parts and connections within a system increases, it often becomes more chaotic, disorganized, and difficult to predict. However, this complexity doesn’t always lead to disorder. At times, forms of order, organization, and stability can emerge from the chaos.
Order and chaos
In summary, orderly complex systems can break down, leading not to emergence or stasis, but to chaos and collapse. Organisms die and decay, civilizations vanish from the historical record, and technology projects sometimes falter under the weight of exponentially increasing requirements.
The world we inhabit is, for lack of a better description, a dance between systems within systems within systems. A human is born within a family system, that lives in a country constrained by different political, economic, technological, natural, and social systems. This person is also affected by systems in the world at large, such as cultural, geographical, and intergenerational systems — all intertwining in an ever-increasing level of complexity and emerging new variables.
Now, add to this the breaking down of traditional anchors that once provided stability — like the structures of family or marriage — alongside increased geopolitical uncertainty, new emerging models of living like digital nomadism, and the rapid advancement of AI, or even the possibility of expanding our civilization to Mars.
We are living in an unprecedented level of complexity, where the very fabric of our existence is shifting and evolving in ways we have never experienced before.
Not only are we living in an existential bifurcating moment, caught between the potential for disintegration or the creation of new synergies that will lead to emergence, but we are also in the aftermath of learning how to grapple with all the new variables thrown our way over the last decade.
This shift may signify that, in order to cope with the chaos and multiplicity we face, we must find a unifying principle or a new framework for navigating reality. One that transcends the limitations of traditional paradigms and allows us to adapt to the complexities and uncertainties of our time, embracing both the challenges and the possibilities that emerge from them.
The designer’s need for systems thinking
Once the Covid pandemic hit, I became literally obsessed with Systems Thinking. It radically reshaped my understanding of reality and my approach to life and projects. Since then, I’ve come to believe that designers, much like anyone, must adopt a Systems Thinking mindset to truly understand the world we live in. The modern world is defined by interconnectivity, where problems and solutions are rarely isolated.
Design requires an understanding that moves beyond surface-level insights — recognizing how each part of a system influences and is influenced by the whole. Because design does not exist in a vacuum, whenever we design a product or a service and launch it into an ecosystem, it becomes increasingly important to understand the impact and ramifications of our responsibility.
Without a systemic understanding of reality, with the complexity we face hindering our efforts, solutions and fixes will often fail to address the root causes of challenges that persist over time. It is no use to launch a service or product that ignores its long-term impact or creates unintended consequences that worsen the original problem or generate new ones. But it’s not only designers — educators, innovators, entrepreneurs, policymakers, scientists, and researchers — all those invested in the future benefit from thinking in systems, rather than in silos.
A systems thinking approach helps designers address challenges with a broader, more integrative perspective. It means seeing the patterns, connections, and relationships between different variables and understanding that even subtle changes can reverberate throughout the system. This mindset is crucial when dealing with complex, multi-layered challenges that cannot be solved with fragmented or linear thinking. While Design Thinking provides a strong foundation for designers, it often removes context and fails to consider the broader impact of our efforts in the real world. Furthermore, it is insufficient for diagnosing deeper, systemic problems.
By developing a systemic mindset, designers can create experiences that are sustainable, flexible, and aligned with the complex, nuanced environments in which they operate. Emergence, a key concept in systems thinking, describes how complex systems reveal patterns, behaviors, or properties that aren’t immediately apparent in individual components. In the context of Design Thinking, understanding emergence may helps teams move beyond predefined solutions, allowing them to respond to unexpected developments and uncover new insights as the design process unfolds. This adaptability enhances the traditional approach, enabling designers to create more relevant and dynamic solutions.
This requires a level of planning that that is both open and adaptive, allowing teams to learn from their environment continuously.
To deepen your understanding of Systems Thinking, here are three essential books that provide valuable insights and practical frameworks:
Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows
A must-read for anyone starting with Systems Thinking, this book introduces the fundamental concepts and tools for understanding and analyzing systems. Meadows breaks down complex ideas in a clear and accessible way, making it an excellent resource for those looking to grasp how systems function and interact.
The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge
This classic work explores how organizations can become learning organizations by adopting Systems Thinking. Senge’s approach emphasizes the importance of seeing the bigger picture and understanding the interconnectedness of all elements within a system. This book is particularly useful for designers who want to apply Systems Thinking within organizational contexts.
Systems Thinking for Social Change by David Peter Stroh
Focused on using Systems Thinking to tackle social challenges, this book offers practical advice for those interested in applying systems concepts to drive sustainable change. Stroh provides case studies and tools to help readers understand how systemic problems can be solved by addressing underlying structures and patterns.
These books serve as a solid foundation for anyone looking to explore the power of Systems Thinking and its applications across different fields, especially design.
