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  "citation": "Taylor, B. P. (2026). Michael C. Jackson. The Necessary Tangle, release 0.35. https://transduction.systems/entries/person_michael_c_jackson/",
  "licence": "CC BY-SA 4.0 for original atlas text and data; linked works retain their own terms",
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    "description": "A systems scholar and practitioner central to the development of critical systems thinking, creative holism and critical systems practice, including the purposeful selection and combination of methods under conditions of complexity, pluralism and power.",
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    "canonical_definition": "Jackson's critical systems programme treats the diversity of systems approaches as a resource to be selected and combined critically rather than a contest to identify one universally correct method.",
    "summary": "Jackson's critical systems programme treats the diversity of systems approaches as a resource to be selected and combined critically rather than a contest to identify one universally correct method.",
    "why_it_matters": "It provides a central route from philosophy and methodological pluralism into practical intervention, while keeping power, interests and emancipation discussable.",
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      "critical pluralism versus method relativism",
      "creative holism versus indiscriminate method mixing",
      "complexity and pluralism versus one-dimensional diagnosis",
      "method selection versus brand loyalty"
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      "UK systems movement",
      "critical systems thinking",
      "critical systems practice"
    ],
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      "systems methodologies",
      "critical theory",
      "methodological pluralism",
      "power and emancipation"
    ],
    "dependent_subsequents": [
      "critical systems practice",
      "creative holism",
      "multimethodology"
    ],
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      "method selection",
      "multimethod intervention",
      "critical reflection",
      "complex organisational inquiry"
    ],
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    "common_misreadings": [
      "Critical systems thinking is not merely a catalogue of methods.",
      "Pluralism does not mean every method or combination is equally warranted."
    ],
    "open_checks": [
      "Add page-level links between Jackson's frameworks, individual methodologies and documented applications.",
      "Develop criticism of the programme from within and outside critical systems traditions."
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    "editorial_note": "",
    "context_and_lineage": "Institutional and intellectual context: the Hull critical systems programme and the wider UK systems movement. This is an intellectual lineage, not an inferred personal identity."
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      "notes": "Open University account of Michael C. Jackson's role in developing the critical systems thinking and practice research programme at Hull, including its relation to the wider UK systems field.",
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  "reuse_note": "Preserve source attribution, scope, and review status. Source documents and evidence excerpts are excluded."
}