What is it about?
Writers on organisational change management frequently cite the work of Heraclitus as authority for the view that organisational change is constant and unremitting, and that there is no continuity or stability in organisational life. This article argues that Heraclitus's views about flux should be set in the context of his belief in the regulation of the universe by divine Justice. When viewed from this perspective, Heraclitus's work is suggestive of continuity and change as a duality, rather than of the triumph of change over continuity.
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Why is it important?
Heraclitus is one of the major figures of western philosophy before Socrates and Plato, and ideas about the nature of reality that flow from his work form key themes in the ways in which people think and speak about organisations and organising.
Perspectives
The work of famous philosophers and other writers is often used to support particular perspectives on management. Sometimes certain aspects of their work are overemphasised and separated from the context in which they were intended to be understood. This article argues that writers on organisational change management have often misunderstood the scope and context of the work of Heraclitus.
Dr David Shaw
Independent Researcher
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: On Misunderstanding Heraclitus: the Justice of Organisation Structure, Philosophy of Management, July 2018, Springer Science + Business Media,
DOI: 10.1007/s40926-018-0097-y.
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