Resolução de problemas complexos : da aleatoriedade biológica à intencionalidade cultural

Abstract

This dissertation aims at analyzing and discussing the solving of wicked problems with a view to defending the idea that there are no infallible methods, only multiple attempts followed by elimination of errors and consequent accumulation of information. The concept of innovation has been commonly associated to technology or the launching of new products; so here innovation will be approached through problem solving. The argumentation develops under a historicist perspective; it begins with the biological process of the natural selection evolutionary algorithm proposed for living organisms by Charles Darwin and it goes on until it comes to the human species and the intentionality of our mind, which allows problem solving to be done in a shorter time. Various scientific methods will be analyzed throughout cultural evolution, from the beginning of philosophical atomism up to the Scientific Revolution. Although science is the most refined human endeavor when it comes to solving problems, resistance to the introduction of new ideas or new perspectives has always been an obstacle to the development of human civilization. Discussing knowledge generation is relevant and it will be expanded around the epistemology of the biology of living organisms cognition and complex social systems. Finally, after studying problem solving in nature and in science, an analysis of the business world will be carried out. The conclusion is that organizations, much like living organisms, are prone to extinction and they can only solve their wicked problems by making use of the trial-and-error method with experimentation to accelerate learning with a view to delaying their obsolescence in a rapidly changing environment.