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Author: Francis Clermont

Abstract: Military literature pertaining to systems thinking and design has not yet addressed issues of ethics and moral. Fundamental in the realm of war, violence and human suffering, this article addresses these epistemological and ontological issues that have been so far ignored. Transdisciplinary in nature, the paper proposes different concepts and approaches to capture and assess the profound meanings and impact critical thinking, design, and action have in the strategic spheres of political systems, and with them military organizations. As demonstrated throughout this paper, the values and principles upon which the system must be founded should also guide the actors in their desire to deconstruct in order to reconstruct, transform, and improve the system through a process of enhanced reflexivity and perception that develops conscious, autonomous, responsible, ethical, and moral actors.

* Note: this paper is part of the Special Issue of Journal of Military and Strategic Studies, titled ‘Reflexive Military Practitioners: Design Thinking and Beyond’. The full issue can be accessed at: http://jmss.org/jmss/index.php/jmss/issue/view/76

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