Title: SYNOPTICS, PART IV: application of the Synoptics model for the social analysis of territorial and functional compound systems

Authors: Herbert Rauch

Addresses: Institute for Social Analysis, Schottenfeldgasse 25-27/533, 1070 Vienna, Austria

Abstract: Compounds are - within the ten levels of social systems - those interconnected social arrangements where a territorial or a functional realm is circumscribed by a kind of boundaries. As a matter of fact, the application of the 'C'-Theory with respect to compounds was first simply tried out: could it be possible that the power-formula of 'G' and 'A', Alpha-Beta-Gamma-Omega, makes sense also at this level? Surprisingly it does make sense, and more: It can describe and also explain the stability and eventual instability of such social configurations of course, to follow up on this path of social analysis one has to go at least roughly over the introduction of 'Synoptics' as a hermeneutic method, as was outlined in 'Synoptics' PART I - Synoptic Social Analysis is a theory and a method to diagnose social systems and social processes aiming to obtain perspectives for therapeutic social action, for instance and especially with respect to processes of conflict work. The levels and their specific dynamics are described here in several PARTS (articles). Here in PART IV, territorial (settlements) compound systems (such as villages and cities) are outlined, as well as functional-compound systems (with a nation-wide health system as an important example).

Keywords: Synoptics method; social analysis; Raoul Schindler; psychoanalysis; social sciences; social systems; challenge principle; political case studies.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGEI.2021.118926

International Journal of Global Energy Issues, 2021 Vol.43 No.5/6, pp.643 - 663

Received: 27 Jul 2020
Accepted: 23 Sep 2020

Published online: 12 Nov 2021 *

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