Epistemic Mobility in Complex Intervention: Rethinking Knowledge in Systemic Practice

Journal article, 2026

This article argues that knowledge in intervention should not be conceptualized as a set of static types, but as a dynamic orientation that must shift in relation to changing situational dynamics. Under conditions of complexity, intervention falters when epistemic orientation remains anchored in predictive and analytic expectations of control rather than moving toward adaptive, relational engagement. The core competence of complex intervention is therefore not the accumulation of expertise, but the cultivation of epistemic mobility. The article develops epistemic inertia and epistemic mobility as analytical lenses and discusses their implications for systemic practitioners operating under conditions of distributed causality and uncertainty. Epistemic mobility refers to the capacity within intervention to reconfigure how knowledge is mobilized as relational dynamics evolve. It involves recognizing when predictive and analytic reasoning are misaligned with emergent dynamics and transitioning toward adaptive, relational, and exploratory engagement without relinquishing accountability or coherence. Epistemic mobility thus concerns the alignment of knowing with the evolving dynamics of the situation rather than the accumulation of additional information. Epistemic inertia refers to the persistence of stabilized knowledge orientations despite shifts in situational dynamics. It occurs when predictive, decompositional, and control-oriented modes of knowing continue to guide intervention under conditions that require adaptive and relational engagement.