A view of science, agricultural science and farming systems research in these postmodern times

Abstract

Truth and reality are quite individual in society today. Dissent and scepticism are mainstream, and the truth is often more-or-less whatever your conscience wants it to be. This may be a challenge to scientists who adhere to the positivist view that “the truth is out there”. The contemporary, relativistic nature of truth is linked to a reduction of the value placed on knowledge in society. Knowledge is being replaced by Interpretation. This study explores some perspectives on truth, knowledge and interpretation, and some relationships between soft systems and traditional scientific research. We comment on one soft systems tool, participation that has been particularly useful in our systems research projects offering practical and philosophical advantages in a range of situations. However, participative methods demand new roles for scientists and producers, and there is not always a happy mix between participative and scientific approaches.