On Sunday 2nd August 2015 the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Systems Science Working Group presented the one day pre-conference workshop on Systems Philosophy and its relevance to Systems Engineering in Berlin, led by Gary Smith (INCOSE).

The workshop has been the second in a succesful series. The first INCOSE workshop on Systems Philosophy and Systems Engineering was held on Saturday 11th July 2015 in the Hyatt Regency Bellevue on Seattle’s Eastside, USA led by James Martin (INCOSE).

In both workshops David Rousseau (Director, Centre for Systems Philosophy, UK; Visiting Fellow, Centre for Systems Studies, University of Hull, UK; Scientif Council Member, BCSSS), Jennifer Wilby (Snr Lecturer, Centre for Systems Studies, University of Hull, UK; VP, International Society for the Systems Sciences; Scientific Council Member BCSSS), Julie Billingham (Scientific Advisor, Centre for Systems Philosophy, UK)  and Stefan Blachfellner (Managing Director BCSSS; VP, International Federation for Systems Research) presented how Systems  Philosophy can be used to support expansion of the theoretical foundations of Systems Engineering (SE).

The workshops started with a basic introduction to Systems Philosophy and the attendees explored together perspectives on SE as a discipline and the place of SE in the systems disciplinary field; How Systems  Philosophy can help SE and other systems disciplines work together to develop mutually beneficial foundations; How Systems Philosophy and SE can support the development of a General Systems Theory (GST), and how working with a GST can help unify and expand the theoretical foundations of SE; How SEs could leverage expanded  theoretical  foundations to address increasing complexity of engineered systems; and key programs and projects under way to improve/expand the systems sciences, as well as emerging  opportunities  for richer engagement  between Systems  Engineering, Systems  Science and Systems Philosophy.

For more information please visit https://sites.google.com/site/syssciwg/projects/o-systems-philosophy
For more information about the workshop visit https://sites.google.com/site/syssciwg/meetings/workshop-2015-july