Western Thinking at Its Best: Systems Theory and Psychology

Our financial system has been analyzed, dissected and examined through many lenses. However, two major contributions of Western thinking—systems theory and the field of psychology—have not featured prominently in these analyses. In this chapter, we will first try to answer the following questions: firstly, what are the components required to make a system more sustainable? And secondly, how can we better deal with the unknown, with uncertainty and complexity? Nature serves as our example: living systems have an astonishing capacity to stay within a window of viability over extraordinarily long periods of time. This chapter will demonstrate that beyond the various schools of economics and finance, systems theory can provide a more comprehensive approach. Besides systems theory, findings in psychology and neuroscience then help to support the idea that humans have the capacity to access and operate within two systems simultaneously. This is because we have two cerebral hemispheres that represent two different ways of interacting with our environment. This dual capacity of the brain and of the mind is reminiscent of the Yin and Yang of Taoism. In conclusion, we will refer to six components that can help us to change our behavior on a personal level.