Information-based design of social systems

The dominant framework for Systems Design is seen to be problematic due to an underconceptualized definition of information. A more robust informational foundation is proposed. The Csanyi‐Kampis notions of referential and nonreferential information are operationalized in terms of the informational aspects of Miller's living systems theory (LST). Following the work of Rosen, it is noted that a particular entailment ordering arises among the modeling relations of systems. This ordering renders the dominant approaches to systems design problematic. A new category of state‐referential information is introduced in order to handle the entailment anomalies. The structure‐process mappings in LST are seen as appropriate for preserving informational distinctions in living systems, and are proposed as a means of increasing the overlap between the ontological and epistemological bases of systems. Consequences for the theory and practice of social systems design are briefly discussed.