Pragmatic inquiry

Abstract

Inquiry into how people might act to solve a problem, which involves powerful communities of stakeholders, cannot be undertaken using only the principles of scientific inquiry. Science is useful for inquiry into physical activity but less so for inquiry into designing appropriate social systems such as a strategic plan or the appropriate solution to a social conflict. This paper argues that complex problem solving needs to draw on a set of pragmatic principles, which it explains. Pragmatism is an epistemology intended to deal with alternative interpretations of the same physical reality. It is increasingly coming back into the attention of soft operational researchers. After briefly explaining which thread of pragmatism is being drawn upon, this paper identifies five interrelated principles for undertaking a pragmatic inquiry. To explain these interrelations, the principles are designed into a linked system of pragmatic inquiry which is applied in a small case study.

Keywords:

• pragmatism
• problem solving
• soft operational research
• system of inquiry

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge the very useful and extensive advice provided by one of the anonymous reviewers.