Paradox: Systems Thinking at its Best or at its Worst

It has been asserted that paradoxical thinking epitomizes systems thinking. This paper examines this assertion using systems thinking approaches, in particular soft systems methods and Systemigrams. Additional systems concepts such as boundary are also utilized. The analysis results provide insight into paradoxical thinking as a problem structuring method for dealing with complex engineering problems and their corresponding solutions (e.g., systems of systems) as well as opportunities for future research.