Abstract

For thousands of years societies, cultures, and organizations framed their worlds through a variety of lenses that allowed them to peer into nature and into themselves. Over time these lenses changed. The western world embraced a scientific and linear paradigm. Recently, fresh approaches have arisen through lenses called the new sciences. Discoveries are extending beyond their birthplaces in the physical and biological sciences to impact organizational science and practice. This dissertation compares two perspectives affecting social systems---linear and nonlinear. To give depth to the comparison, contending relationships between the linear and nonlinear perspectives are constructed and critiqued. Given the relative immaturity of chaos and complexity theories, a nontraditional methodology was employed that excluded typical experimental methods. The chosen method compares linear and nonlinear constructs via a comparative framework in the milieu of applied organizational theory. A critical argument is made for the utilization of the nonlinear perspective and extension of the living system metaphor to one of living social systems. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of implications and possible future trajectories for participation in and adaptation of organizations