System as a Unifying Process: An Onto‐Epistemic Notion of System

This article proposes an onto‐epistemic notion of system as a relational process of unifying a multiplicity of actuals and abstractions into an actual unity, thereby encompassing concreteness and abstraction onto the same plane. This notion rejects the opposition between constructivism and realism within systems studies, the excessive focus on permanence and identity and the separation between purely conceptual (epistemic) and positive (ontic) systems. Drawing on Alfred Whitehead's concept of event and Edgar Morin's systems discussion as theoretical foundations, and taking Roland Faber's formulation of the problem posed by the idea of system as a point of departure, the article situates experience as the plane in which actuals and abstractions are unified. By emphasizing the ongoing, situated and relational character of systems, this definition can be operationalized in problem‐oriented scientific research, allowing for the construction of objects of study while acknowledging the commitments, agency and responsibilities involved in enacting a system.