Position paper on 'How far harmonisation?' : Information system modelling myopia

In this position statement on the question, How far harmonisation? I expresses the view that, in the context of our profession, our theories, as far a possible, must meet the stringent quality criteria which philosophers of science impose on other disciplines that deal with problems in domains of inter-subjective activity, such as the natural sciences. I also show that our present ‘tunes’ are played on almost one note, making any harmony rather thin and uninteresting. Sometimes I despair of our profession ever abandoning old, demonstrably weak ideas (conceptualist or naive objectivist ontologies, for example) or of ever raising its eyes above the technical layer of problems to face the other half of the issues before us. However, I justify my long-term optimism because I have not encountered any intrinsic difficulty in meeting the most exacting criteria of scientific quality in dealing with information systems. Only a general unwillingness to apply those criteria obstructs our progress.