Critical Systems Heuristics
With the development of Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH), Werner Ulrich is one of the founding fathers of CST. Inspired by ideas of Churchman (known for the statement: “A systems approach begins when first you see the world through the eyes of another”, 1968) he developed a practical approach with CSH. Central to the approach is the concept of boundary judgements and the involvement of all possible perspectives in a system analysis (whole system judgements). In 1983, his book ‘Critical Heuristics of Social Planning’ (Ulrich, 1983) was published. It is seen as a milestone in the development of systems theory. Not only did he provide a solid philosophical foundation for CSH (based among others on Kant’s twelve knowledge categories), but he also described the first approach with an emancipatory angle.
With his critical approach, Ulrich states that we cannot know a system in all its aspects. A critical reflection in the form of boundary judgements is necessary to acknowledge our inevitable lack of completeness. This reflection does not only apply to others. Through self-reflection we also learn to acknowledge our own assumptions which play a part in forming boundary judgements.
The name CSH consists of three words. The first two indicate that CSH is a critical systems approach. Heuristics refers to the theory or art of discovering. Heuristics are rules of experience that are employed to research a situation. In CSH, they are used to identify and explore problematic aspects, assumptions, questions and solution strategies.