A step towards understanding systems thinking as mental self-renewal

Abstract

This article is a critical theoretical review on underlying theoretical concepts of the mind behind Ståhle’s self-renewal model of systems thinking. Previous research has claimed that self-renewal - meaning systems inherent and autonomous ability to constantly renew oneself - can explain systems thinking in social contexts, such as group and organisational settings. This research aims to analyse self-renewal in light of existing research on the 4E paradigm of cognition and adult cognitive development, to understand it as a part of individual thinking and development. The aim is to reach a theoretical synthesis in order to construct a working definition of mental self-renewal. The article concludes by arguing that mental self-renewal is an effective conceptualization for systems thinking, which can describe its inherent creativity and cognitive development. However, there is a need to include more concepts from phenomenology in order to fully explicate it as a mental phenomenon. There are many directions for future research due to the infancy of this topic.