Exploring the ontological origins of dualism: Towards a conjunctive structure of thought in organization studies

Abstract

Scholars have underscored that the organization studies are afflicted by dualism which impedes new theoretical developments. To overcome dualism which considers all aspects in opposition, we adopt a philosophical approach to explore in depth its origins. We reveal that dualism has ontological origins and emerges from the progressive abandonment of the Aristotelian ontological framework and specifically his conceptualization of the four primary causes that are bound together in pairs by a reciprocal and total causality. Based on this observation, we then argue the need to scrutinize not only our epistemology and methods, but first and foremost, our ontological assumptions as they shape our structure of thought. We suggest two complementary ways to help us make these assumptions explicit and thus enable us to expand organization studies.