Systems Engineering Philosophy: No Easy Answers?

Many continue to ask if Systems Engineering is really a discipline and does it have an underlying philosophy. This paper is an attempt to fill the gap in the literature on the philosophical drivers of systems engineering. In doing so, we discuss the philosophy of science, philosophy of technology, and their relationship to systems engineering. We also explore some topical issues relevant to this discussion such as, what is systems engineering, and how can it be better bounded. Our analysis reveals while systems engineering is important to the successful development and evolution of systems, it has some foundational issues resulting in an over-focus on current systems engineering practices. To better advance Systems Engineering, it is important that our research efforts expand to include the overall philosophies that support systems engineering and that we more broadly research systems engineering to include multidisciplinary principles and properties as well as innovation.