(Universidad de Cuenca, 2014-07) Álava Atiencie, Nubia Gabriela; Orellana Espinoza, Elvis
The article presents a scientific literature review of proposals that have emerged with the epistemological dominance of positivism, reductionist and mechanistic worldview. These alternatives are: The complexity theory that exceeds the reductionist, mechanistic and dichotomous thinking, and allows to analyze the reality from different perspectives, approaches and knowledge, and catalyzes the transformation and changing situations. The systems theory , which proposed that the change actually comes from the selforganizing
and emergent systems. The Participatory Methodologies raising various techniques that promote dialogue
between academic knowledge and social knowledge (popular). Integrative approaches and decolonization thoughts that transcend and go beyond positivism as modes of knowledge production based on subject-subject relations, rather than subject object relations.
