Michel Liu is a Sociologue French, professor emeritus of the universities to the Université Paris-Dauphine.

After a doctorate of State science (Nuclear physics) to the University Paris-Orsay, Michel Liu directed himself towards the Sociologie of the organizations. He then passes a diploma in Business Administration (“Analysis of system and sociology of the organizations”) to the Université of Northwestern to Chicago. Then it obtains its second doctorate of arts state and social sciences (Sociologie) with the Institut of political studies of Paris (under the direction of Jean-Daniel Reynaud).

It is interested in the science of the systems limiting all while recognizing to him some on a social level of complexity.

Responsibilities

Michel Liu is member of International Advisory Board of the review Concepts and Transformation since 1996, as well as review International Newspaper off Research Action. He is also member of the Council of the Research of the Central École of Paris (external Personalities) since 2004 and coordinator of network CEDREA having for goal to gather the researcher-actors around the topic of dynamic social.

Other reponsabilities:

* Directing (and creator) of the Dynamic DEA of the organizations and social transformations of the University Paris-Dauphine (1991-2005)

* Directing of the research and study Center of in sociology of the organizations (1991 - 2000) of the University Paris-Dauphine (C.E.R.S.O)

* Professor of social sciences to the Central School of Paris (1976 - 1991):

* Responsible for the lesson of Preparation to the functions of the engineer

* Responsible for the Director of studies Group of Research Socio-Techniques

* for Mastère and the DEA for the doctoral program for Industrial engineering

Research

It defines its current research as follows: “The organizations were studied until now in a static way, through their structures or their states, it is necessary to study them in their dynamics, i.e. to put the question of the reasons of their operation and their evolutions. The Dynamique of an organization appears by the transformations of its Culture, which it is thus necessary to be able to study. The study of the cultures requires a methodology different from those which are currently of use in Sociologie. It proves to be necessary to found this methodology by clarifying its epistemology. ”

Its research program articulates the three above mentioned axes:

*la dynamic of the organizations,

*l' study of the cultures

*l' epistemology of social sciences.

Step and methodology of research

Michel Liu recommends to use the step of Research-Action to the direction “Lewinien” of the term.

Epistemological positioning of the author

According to Bases and Pratiques of Research Action and Epistemology of the holistic step

The specificity of the production of knowledge in social sciences

For him, “the scientific knowledge of a phenomenon is a whole of practical information and which makes it possible to make this phenomenon understandable , to envisage the developments ( forecast ) and to exert certain degrees of influence of them on its evolution ( feasibility ). The scientific knowledge must be able to be transmitted”

The author points out that our perception of the scientific knowledge was established starting from the development of sciences of nature having taken place in XVIIe Sciècle in Europe. This “cultural practice” can according to him involve a confusion and carry us to believe that to be a scientist, any knowledge should have the same characteristics as those elaborate in the field of the traditional Physique in particular.

Its epistemological reflection the conduit to propose within the framework of social sciences another perception.

Differences related to the object in study

Michel Liu releases from the notable differences between the objects of study of the social sciences and those of sciences of nature.

The author notes for example that there exist certain self capacitance with the human being:

*Les cognitive capacities

*Le free will, “strategic autonomy”

*La psychological dimension, interiority.

These capacities do not interest a priori the model of research of the traditional Physique, which is interested rather in the matter.

It from of deduced that the hasty transposition of this type of step within the framework of the social sciences will lead the researcher to postulate that the individuals observed (or very little) will not be concerned with research whose they are the object, will not change their mode of action, will stick to the “usual” rules. This somewhat points out interpretation most commonly allowed by the not-physicists of the principle of uncertainty of Heisenberg (Let us add here that it to act of a vision summarized with the extrème of the principle in question and that it is thus not completely exact).
The relevance of the Observation becomes limited then when these effects become significant parameters for example within the framework of the study of the social changes.

Separation in the continuation of the finalities of research

Mr. Liu advances that in sciences of nature and physical sciences, the law of causality establishes, beyond some Déterminisme, a intelligibility of the studied phenomenon.

This intelligibility thus defined allows the forecast and suggests the feasibility (means of action to reproduce the aforementioned phenomenon) or indicates at least a direction in which it is necessary to seek. The formulation of a causal relation between two phenomena establishes in this case this intelligibility, and cause-effect formalization corresponds then to the definition of the scientific knowledge given higher.

This diagram does not apply any more within the framework of social sciences because:

*un social phenomenon can come from a very great number of nonidentifiable determinants

*la causes and the effect can coexist; causality can become circular (Récursivité); the effect can react on the cause and the relation between cause and effect can become unstable .

*la finality can explain a certain number of made social

Thus, - intelligibility, feasibility and forecast - must be defined there in an independent way, just as the transmission of the knowledge must be approached there in a specific way.

The research of intelligibility in social sciences

The construction of a meaning situation passes for the author by the representation that is made the human spirit of it, and this representation is related to the already established representations.

Thus, in the majority of the social situations including of dynamic of Innovation, of emergence, creation, these repésentations must be built through a specific effort of research. This step of research must include these original features belonging to a social situation (beyond the only already known and recognized “social forms”) under penalty of a reduction of the relevance and reality of acquired knowledge.

For Michel Liu, if the intelligibility results from construction of a representation, that introduced in fact “an interdependence between knowledge obtained, the researcher and his device of study. ”

This postulate (against the traditional requirements of traditional physics) implies that two different researchers can build two different representations “which will be both legitimate, provided that each one of them gives an account of the totality of the remarks”, with for corollary that only an intersubjective agreement, a negotiation, will be able to lead to a single representation.

The research of the forecast in social sciences

For Mr. Liu, the forecast is an objective more difficult to reach within the framework of social sciences, for several reasons:

*le level of Déterminisme to a social status is less than with lower levels of complexity (biological, physical)

*le makes social implies human beings being able to apply to them free will;

*les cognitive capacities of the human beings can induce effects of advertisement, of induction, " prophecies car-réalisantes" …

Is thus needed, for the author, that the forecast includes/understands the exposure:

*du result awaited

*des average used to arrive there

*du advance followed along its demonstration.

The research of feasibility in social sciences

Social reality consists of interactions, which introduces into the reflection of the author an important consequence with regard to the methods of the social action: to change a social system necessarily passes by the implication of the people directly concerned; implication spontaneous or obtained in a more directing way.

• the spontaneous adhesion is under the dependence of the individual and the search for feasibility

• the influence does not relate to is concerned with this research, which can be implemented in two manners:
• the coercion which must be isolated for ethical and epistemological reasons (goes against the respect for human dignity, and amounts “denying the capacity of free will of the individual and thus neglecting an essential property of the object of study”)

In this prospect, any search for " faisabilité" must necessarily pass by an epistemological and ethical framework (explicit or implicit); what pushes the author to be decided in favor of a social research participative in sciences, in which feasibility involves the following consequences on the knowledge resulting from the study:

• knowledge must implement interactions between the researchers and the individuals being the subject of research
• elaborate knowledge are neither complete nor some (the freedom of the individuals intervening amongst other things like limiting factor)

Conclusions on the epistemological positioning of the author

If one follows the reflection of the author, separation between the finalities of research in the social sciences induced various degrees of validation: each degrees of validation which should be reached to constitute a scientifically admissible knowledge being then made up by the finalities of research themselves:

* intelligibility

* foreseeability

* feasibility

Thus, he writes “if research is defined like a process, by its finalities and its general characteristics, it is then legitimate to propose novel modes of development of knowledge, provided that they continue the same finalities and answer the characteristics”. Its epistemological position enables him to present the step of Research-Action like an effective and legitimate step of development of scientific knowledge in social sciences, and consequently occasion an alternative to the models copied on the more traditional approach of sciences of nature.

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