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The meaning of open systems

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  • Victoria Chick
  • Sheila Dow

Abstract

There has been considerable discussion lately of the concept of open systems, which has revealed that different participants are using the terms 'openness' and 'closure' in different ways. The purpose of this paper is to address issues of meaning that arise in this particular discourse, with a view to clarifying both conflicts in usage and the underlying issues involved. We explore the different meanings of openness and closure extant in the literature, as applied at the ontological and epistemological levels, focusing on our own use of the terms in relation to that which prevails in neoclassical economics on the one hand and to the use made of them by Tony Lawson and other critical realists on the other.

Suggested Citation

  • Victoria Chick & Sheila Dow, 2005. "The meaning of open systems," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(3), pages 363-381.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jecmet:v:12:y:2005:i:3:p:363-381
    DOI: 10.1080/13501780500223585
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    Cited by:

    1. Sheila C. Dow, 2012. "Variety of Methodological Approach in Economics," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: Foundations for New Economic Thinking, chapter 13, pages 210-230, Palgrave Macmillan.
    2. Fusari, Angelo, 2013. "Methodological Misconceptions in the Social Sciences. Rethinking social thought and social processes," MPRA Paper 60164, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2013.
    3. Sheila C. Dow, 2013. "Framing finance: A methodological account," Working Papers PKWP1308, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    4. Robert Sproule & C?lin Vâlsan, 2009. "The student evaluation of teaching: its failure as a research program, and as an administrative guide," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 11(25), pages 125-150, February.
    5. Robert Garnett & Andrew Mearman, 2011. "Contending Perspectives, Twenty Years On: What Have Our Students Learned?," Working Papers 201104, Texas Christian University, Department of Economics.
    6. Gabriel A. Giménez Roche & Didier Calcei, 2021. "The role of demand routines in entrepreneurial judgment," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 56(1), pages 209-235, January.
    7. Dow, Sheila, 2016. "Uncertainty: A diagrammatic treatment," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 10, pages 1-25.
    8. Sergios Tzotzes & Dimitris Milonakis, 2021. "Paradigm Change or Assimilation? The Case of Behavioral Economics," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 53(1), pages 173-192, March.
    9. Sheila Dow, 2009. "History of Thought and Methodology in Pluralist Economics Education," International Review of Economic Education, Economics Network, University of Bristol, vol. 8(2), pages 41-57.
    10. Andrikopoulos, Andreas & Economou, Labriana, 2016. "Coauthorship and subauthorship patterns in financial economics," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 12-19.
    11. Sheila C. Dow, 2014. "Consistency in pluralism and microfoundations," Working Papers PKWP1408, Post Keynesian Economics Society (PKES).
    12. Sandye Gloria, 2024. "Exploring the Foundations of Complexity Economics: Unveiling the Interplay of Ontological, Epistemological, Methodological, and Conceptual Aspects," GREDEG Working Papers 2024-11, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    13. Vinca Bigo, 2006. "Open and closed systems and the Cambridge School," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 64(4), pages 493-514.
    14. Sheila Dow, 2012. "Uncertainty-Denial," Department Discussion Papers 1204, Department of Economics, University of Victoria.
    15. Samitas, Aristeidis & Kampouris, Elias, 2018. "Empirical investigation of co-authorship in the field of finance: A network perspective," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 235-246.
    16. Annina Kaltenbrunner, 2018. "Financialised internationalisation and structural hierarchies: a mixed-method study of exchange rate determination in emerging economies," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 42(5), pages 1315-1341.
    17. Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven & Surbhi Kesar, 2021. "Standing in the Way of Rigor? Economics’ Meeting with the Decolonizing Agenda," Working Papers 2110, New School for Social Research, Department of Economics.
    18. Sheila Dow, 2013. "Teaching open-system economics," Chapters, in: Jesper Jespersen & Mogens Ove Madsen (ed.), Teaching Post Keynesian Economics, chapter 4, pages 73-87, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    19. Piero Ferri & Anna Maria Variato, 2007. "Macro Dynamics in a Model with Uncertainty," Working Papers (-2012) 0704, University of Bergamo, Department of Economics.
    20. Finn Olesen, 2010. "Uncertainty, bounded rationality and post-Keynesian Macroeconomics," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 7(1), pages 109-124.
    21. Lynne Chester, 2019. "Judging Heterodox Economics: A Response to Hodgson's Criticisms," Economic Thought, World Economics Association, vol. 8(1), pages 1-21, June.
    22. Victoria Chick, 2013. "The future is open: on open-system theorising in economics," Chapters, in: Jesper Jespersen & Mogens Ove Madsen (ed.), Teaching Post Keynesian Economics, chapter 3, pages 56-72, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    23. Pirgmaier, Elke, 2017. "The Neoclassical Trojan Horse of Steady-State Economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 52-61.
    24. Fatma Esra Soylu, 2022. "Veblen: Pioneer Of Open Economic Reality," Economic Thought and Practice, Department of Economics and Business, University of Dubrovnik, vol. 31(2), pages 603-621, december.

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