Metaphorum 2026 · Emerging Methods and Tools, and Contemporary Practice

Elevating Stafford Beer’s Legacy: A Critical Systems Thinking Perspective on the Viable System Model

The importance of Stafford Beer’s Viable System Model (VSM) is increasingly recognised. For this to continue, and his legacy to be enhanced, it is necessary to understand the assumptions on which the VSM is based, how the model relates to other significant contributions to systems thinking and practice, and what it can achieve. This keynote argues that Critical Systems Thinking (CST) is well placed to assist in these matters. CST embraces the philosophy of pragmatism and views the VSM as part of that tradition. It is not, on this reading, a scientific model or a ‘hermeneutic enabler’. It is useful because it has demonstrated what Dewey calls ‘warranted assertibility’. This conclusion has significant methodological implications. CST seeks to provide a critique of systems approaches based on the ‘systemic perspectives’ they privilege. On this criterion, the VSM shares an organismic orientation with socio-technical systems thinking, contingency theory, and the many contemporary descriptions of organisations as ‘living systems’. There is much to learn from these other organismic accounts although the explanatory power provided by cybernetics puts the VSM in pole position for unifying their findings and guiding the action research necessary to further develop the power of this perspective. CST argues that it is necessary to be multi-perspectival and multi-methodological in the face of real-world complexity. Clarity around the theoretical underpinnings of the VSM enables us to understand better its relationship to alternative systems approaches privileging mechanical, interrelationships, purposeful, and societal/environmental perspectives. The way forward is not to ‘expand’ the VSM (threatening its integrity), or to ‘mix’ approaches (threatening cognitive loss) to achieve ‘greater coverage’ of the various ways in which complexity announces itself, but to continue to enhance its distinct competences and become adept at using it in combination with other systems approaches in pursuit of multi-dimensional improvement. CST offers valuable insights, I believe, into how best to view and use the VSM, thus opening a clear pathway for those seeking to elevate Stafford Beer’s legacy. Speaker: Michael C. Jackson — University of Hull, UK

Schedule to be confirmed