Non-Dualism and Information Systems Research

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Abstract:

This paper makes a case for the grounding of information systems research within theoretical frameworks that reject the idea of subject-object dualism. In support, two rationales are offered. (1) Research in information systems exhibits an overwhelming dominance of positivistic research methodologies. Such positivistic research approaches have their roots in the scientific method, and in the attempt to transplant the scientific method from the context of the natural sciences to the context of the social sciences. Further, according to various theorists, the scientific method has its roots in the concept of subject-object dualism put forward by Descartes and others. Thus, this paper argues that IS researchers who wish to resist the current orthodoxy, and who seek to advance a non-positivistic research program, may find it useful to anchor their research within paradigmatic and theoretical frameworks that reject the concept of subject-object dualism. (2) Research into differences in cognitive processes among distinct cultures suggests that there are differences between Western and Eastern ways of thinking. The Eastern mindset is typically more sympathetic to the notion of subject-object non-dualism than the Western mindset. This difference may have implications for the design of IS that rely heavily on modes of human cognition (e.g., knowledge management or decision support systems). This suggests that when considering certain cultural or cross-cultural contexts, IS researchers may benefit from grounding their assumptions within non-dualistic paradigmatic and theoretical frameworks.

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