Using and building on the conceptual ideas of Bateson, Tognetti (1999) pushes for post-normal science, which goes beyond the typical boundaries of science. Tognetti (1999) refers to this as a double bind, which is described as science that operates in a fixed context and is biased towards positivist approaches (“doing objective and detached research that builds on established conceptual frameworks” – page 700).
Yet thinking beyond this rigid approach enables “understanding of a higher logical tyvpe because it provides a frame of reference as well as meaning to any given situation” (p. 693). This type of approach also appreciates and recognizes multiple perspectives – e.g. interdisciplinary, cross-cultural points of view. These all help to inform the creation of meaning, reach nuanced decisions and recognize different forms of knowledge in that particular situation.
