Search Results for: heuristic

Tracing the tracks of C. West Churchman Last month I reread (and blogged) Churchman’s ‘The Systems Approach’ (1968) and was surprised to see that between the lines it contained practically the whole of the dialectical systems approach (the systems approach) … Continue reading →

A dialectical total systems framework Every now and then I think I have disentangled the whole systems enchilada. By this (i.e. the term ‘whole systems enchilada’) I mean that I am convinced that the systems approach of Churchman hasn’t lost … Continue reading →

This is a 15-paragraph overview of a series of 15 blogging posts, which covered the whole of Churchman’s The Systems Approach (TSA), a rather well-known book he wrote in 1968, of which I am convinced that it hasn’t lost any … Continue reading →

Is THE systems approach a supersystem approach? This is a summary of the last, concluding Chapter Fourteen of The Systems Approach (TSA). It is part of a series of blogging posts, which covered the whole of Churchman’s The Systems Approach (TSA), a … Continue reading →

A simple clarification of Churchman’s systems approach This is a summary of Chapter Four of The Systems Approach (TSA). It is part of a series of blogging posts, which will cover the whole of Churchman’s The Systems Approach (TSA), a … Continue reading →

Where nothing is what it seems This is a summary of Chapter Three of The Systems Approach (TSA). It is part of a series of blogging posts, which will cover the whole of Churchman’s The Systems Approach (TSA), a rather … Continue reading →

How empiricism restricted our concept of reason In the previous post I have shown that Churchman probably elaborated his systems approach over a period of about 30 years (1952-1982). First he used it in his consultancy work as operations research … Continue reading →

Early seminal paper about the systems approach To the unsuspecting eye, Churchman’s systems approach may seem to have popped up quite unexpectedly in 1968, but it has roots in his writings well before that and in his consultancy work long … Continue reading →

Client-purpose relationships, unfolding, evaluation and systemic agency It’s always wise to raise questions about the most obvious and simple assumptions. (Churchman, 1968: ix) What proof exists of any real, actual value added by the systems approach? At the beginning of … Continue reading →