The Moscow Methodological Circle (MMC) was a scientific organisation set up by
Georgy Shchedrovitsky
Georgy Petrovich Shchedrovitsky (russian: Георгий Петрович Щедровицкий) (23 February 1929 – 3 February 1994) was a Russian philosopher and methodologist, public and cultural figure. The creator of the system-thinking me ...
to examine problems from an inter-disciplinary point of view, looking at the various methodological approaches of each discipline to yield what they described as "systemic thinking activity".
The MMC started out as an informal group meeting in a pub on
Gorky Street
Tverskaya Street ( rus, Тверская улица, p=tvʲɪrˈskajə ˈulʲɪt͡sə), known between 1935 and 1990 as Gorky Street (russian: улица Горького), is the main radial street in Moscow. The street runs Northwest from the ...
which included the mathematician
Alexander Zinoviev
Alexander Alexandrovich Zinoviev (Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Зино́вьев; October 29, 1922 – May 10, 2006) was a Soviet philosopher, writer, sociologist, and journalist.
Coming from a poor peasant famil ...
, the sociologist
Boris Grushin Boris Andreevich Grushin (russian: Бори́с Андре́евич Гру́шин; 2 August 1929, in Moscow – 18 September 2007, in Moscow) was a well-known Soviet and Russian philosopher, sociologist and historical and sociological scientis ...
and the philosopher
Merab Mamardashvili
Merab Mamardashvili ( ka, მერაბ მამარდაშვილი, russian: Мера́б Константи́нович Мамардашви́ли; September 15, 1930 – November 25, 1990) was a Georgian philosopher.
Biography
He w ...
. They attracted the attention of the
KGB
The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
but were tolerated.
The MMC developed an approach to methodological thinking, which featured these principles:
*
holism
Holism () is the idea that various systems (e.g. physical, biological, social) should be viewed as wholes, not merely as a collection of parts. The term "holism" was coined by Jan Smuts in his 1926 book ''Holism and Evolution''."holism, n." OED Onl ...
and
reflexivity
* practical orientation which uses
systems thinking
Systems thinking is a way of making sense of the complexity of the world by looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts. It has been used as a way of exploring and developing effective actio ...
as the means for organising processes of resolving
wicked problem
In planning and policy, a wicked problem is a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize. It refers to an idea or problem that cannot be fix ...
s by multi-professional and transdisciplinary teams
* reflexivity as practical
recursive
Recursion (adjective: ''recursive'') occurs when a thing is defined in terms of itself or of its type. Recursion is used in a variety of disciplines ranging from linguistics to logic. The most common application of recursion is in mathematics ...
orientation of thinking to itself whereby it is able to re-construct and re-direct itself;
*the “methodological turn” from thinking about systems as objects to develop the process of thinking systemically
Legacy
The MMC has had a lasting impact on Russian systems thinking particularly through the Methodological School of Management. This is acknowledged by
Viktor Khristenko
Viktor Borisovich Khristenko (russian: Виктор Борисович Христенко; born 28 August 1957) is a Russian politician who was chairman of the board of the Eurasian Economic Commission from 1 February 2012 to 1 February 2016. He ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moscow Methodological Circle
Systems thinking