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Social Field Foundations
Core frameworks to support an emerging field of science
Laying the Groundwork for a New Science
Core to awareness-based systems change is the concept of the social field—the deeper structures of our systems that determine whether communities can see and sense in shared ways, learn together and act coherently.
The capacity to see, sense and shift the deeper structures of our systems is more important now than ever. Building that capacity requires an extension of science to include the deeper levels of knowing that become available through social field awareness.
For a new area of inquiry to grow, it needs a shared foundation—common language, core concepts and clear boundaries that allow researchers and practitioners across contexts to co-evolve the field. We're working to articulate a conceptual framework that can help hold and guide this shared inquiry.
Fourth Person: The Knowing of the Field
Otto Scharmer & Eva Pomeroy (2024)
This foundational article proposes fourth-person knowing as a distinct form of knowing that extends beyond the first-person (individual experience), second-person (dialogue), and third-person (observation) perspectives currently organizing scientific inquiry to include the knowing of the field.
Building a Science of the Social Field:
Deep Sensing for Regeneration in Times of Rupture
Otto Scharmer & Eva Pomeroy (2026)
What does fourth-person knowing look like in practice? This white paper explores and articulates a research methodology for fourth-person knowing, setting it within the call for an extension of the current scientific paradigm to integrate consciousness.
The Blind Spot: Uncovering the Grammar of the Social Field
Otto Scharmer (2015)
One of the earliest comprehensive articulations of social field science. While the concept of a social field has roots in multiple traditions, from Kurt Lewin's action science to Pierre Bourdieu's sociology, this essay defines how the term applies to awareness-based systems change.
Theory U
The concept of the social field lies at the heart of Theory U, a living theory and body of practice that continues to evolve in response to the needs of the times. These books trace that evolution, from foundational framework to applied methodology for transforming self, society, and systems.
Theory U
Leading from the Future as It Emerges
Otto Scharmer (2nd edition, 2016)
Theory U introduces the idea that the quality of results in any social system depends on the quality of awareness from which people operate. Based on ten years of research, action learning, and interviews with over 150 practitioners and thought leaders, Theory U provides the conceptual architecture upon which the entire field is built.
Sample Chapters: Intro and Chapter 1
Executive Overview: English | Chinese | French | Hebrew | Italian | Japanese | Korean | Russian | Spanish
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Presencing
7 Practices for Transforming Self, Society, and Business
Otto Scharmer & Katrin Kaufer (2025)
Drawing on two decades of global fieldwork, this book offers seven embodied practices for catalyzing multi-system change, through stories from frontline changemakers cultivating "islands of coherence" across sectors and continents. Where earlier works articulated the theory, Presencing shows what the work looks like in action, marking the point where the framework becomes a lived methodology.
Read a Free Sample View the book images
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Leading from the Emerging Future
From Ego-System to Eco-System Economics
Otto Scharmer & Katrin Kaufer (2013)
Scharmer and Kaufer address the structural disconnects at the root of today's economic, ecological, and social crises. The book proposes a shift from ego-system to eco-system awareness as the basis for transforming capitalism, democracy, and cross-sector collaboration, and offers practical approaches for leading that transformation.
Sample Chapters: Intro, Chapter 1 & 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapters 4 & 5 | Chapter 8
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The Essentials of Theory U
Core Principles and Applications
Otto Scharmer (2018)
A concise entry point into the framework. Designed for practitioners, this guide distills Theory U's core principles and movements into an accessible, applied format, focusing on what it takes to sense and actualize emerging futures in everyday work. For those approaching social field science for the first time, or looking for a compact reference to ground their practice, this is the place to start.
What's Next
Two decades of action research have shown that social fields can be shifted. What is needed now is the scientific infrastructure to make that shift visible, measurable, and replicable at scale. This proposal outlines our vision for building an MRI equivalent for the collective brain: a global research ecosystem that brings the science of social fields from the margins to the mainstream, and an invitation to the partners and funders who want to help make it happen.