Truth Tables, True Distinctions. Paradoxes of the Source Code of Science

Area of Science:

• Management and Organisation Research
• Philosophy of Science
• Systems Theory

Background:

• Growing popularity of paradox theory in management and organisation studies.
• Need for understanding the paradox of true distinctions for theory building.
• Relevance of foundational works by George Spencer Brown and Niklas Luhmann.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce the paradox of true distinctions.
• Demonstrate its relevance to theory building in management and organisation research.
• Propose a strategy to contain, rather than resolve, paradoxes.

Main Methods:

• Contextualizing theory within the paradox of observation, specifically scientific observation.
• Redefining paradox theory as a scientific program focused on the fundamental operations of science.
• Drawing on philosophical works to frame the paradox of scientific communication.

Main Results:

• The paradox of true distinctions is relevant for theory building.
• Paradox theory can be understood as a scientific program investigating science's basic operations.
• A strategy to contain paradoxes without resolving them is presented.

Conclusions:

• Further development of the "source code" of science offers critical insights.
• Understanding paradoxes enhances opportunities and limits for metatheoretical extensions.
• This framework is applicable to theories of management, organisation, society, and digital transformation.