Unit II explains how breakthroughs in science and medicine have very often been held in suspicion or rejected and then gradually qualified in stages by leading contemporaries and authoritative groups of increasing size before being generally accepted. Such paradigm shift is explained from work of Polyni and Kuhn which also addresses the perils of positivism that can hinder our capacity to serve patients and groups.

      A number of other helpful constructs help the learner examine his or her own professional assumptions, influences as well as increase capacity to recognize ideas that may be relevant in the formation of social work and other healthcare professions. Content includes fields, complexity, chaos, emergence, butterfly effect and an overview of Ontology and Epistemology.

Unit I sheds light on issues defining isolated components of systems as well as composites of components and systems within systems. It establishes theoretical foundation of human beings possessing a gamut of properties, characteristics and powers attached to their essence and potential. Insights about the nature of ‘composite relationships’ and their influence on larger system dynamics are also examined along with variables of change, growth, and entropy.