Professor
Emeritus Shares Work with Mason Students and Faculty
John Warfield,
professor emeritus of public policy and integrative
sciences, visited George Mason over
the summer to share his latest work with faculty
members and students. The creator of “Systems Science,” Warfield
presented his research on “Basing Strategic
Planning and Policy Development in Systems Science:
Two Recent
Applications.”
Warfield
defines systems science as “a hierarchy
of sub-sciences, all of which incorporate the ‘Fundamental
Triangle of All Science.’” During his presentation,
he explained that this triangle includes “thought
about thought, behavioral pathologies and language.” Warfield
said that Aristotle first used the term “thought
about thought.” In the notes to his presentation,
Warfield elaborated, saying: “The basic idea
has to do with what an individual can do to control
through deliberate action the consistency of his
or her thought.”
 |
John
Warfield, professor emeritus of public policy
and integrative sciences, created “Systems
Science.”
|
 To
hear Professor Warfield speak, click Here. |
The
second part of the triangle, behavioral pathology,
is “anything involving mental activity,” he
told the group gathered in a Finley conference room
on July 14. “These are things that make human
beings less effective than they could be,” he
added.
Language
differences also affect our ability to resolve a “problematic situation,” Warfield said.
Later he added, “People don’t think they
need to construct new languages to deal with problematic
situations….Believe me, it is necessary.” Warfield
also discussed "interactive management” (IM) – “a
system of management invented explicitly to apply to
the management of complexity.” Specifically,
IM can help managers of companies or other institutions
deal with “problematic situations.” Warfield
has applied his work in many locations, including
the automotive industry “where intense international
competition has forced recalcitrant management to make
extensive use of computer-assisted group processes.” In
the past year, Warfield’s techniques helped Ford
Motor Company make a “billion dollar strategic
corporate decision” and “win approval
for a four-year fuel-cell vehicle development program
involving
a $70 million dollar budget.”
In 2001, Warfield donated $1.5 million worth of his
research and training materials related to the field
of complexity to GMU’s library. Warfield, who
retired from Mason in 2000, now lives in Palm Harbor,
Fla., where he runs his company Integrative Sciences,
Inc.
For
more information, visit the Warfield Collection
at http://www.gmu.edu/library/specialcollections/warfield.htm
or his Web site at http://www.jnwarfield.com. |
