C. West Churchman

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C. West Churchman that appeared on the cover of the book "The Design of Inquiring Systems", 1972.
C. West Churchman that appeared on the cover of the book "The Design of Inquiring Systems", 1972.

Charles West Churchman (29 August 1913 – 21 March 2004 Bolinas, California.) was an American philosopher and systems scientist, who was Professor at the School of Business Administration and Professor Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He is internationally known for his pioneering work in operations research, system analysis and ethics.[1]

Contents

[edit] Biography

Churchman was born in Philadelphia in 1913, Pennsylvania, to Clark Wharton Churchman and Helen Norah Fassitt, descendents of old line Philadelphia families. His first intellectual love was for philosophy and this far-ranging love for wisdom captivated him to the end of his life.[2] He studied philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1935, a master's in 1936, and a PhD in 1938, all in philosophy. One of his teacher was Edgar A. Singer, who had been a student at Harvard of the philosopher and psychologist William James.

Before completing his dissertation, in 1937, he became Instructor of Philosophy, also at the University of Pennsylvania. Upon finishing his degree, he was appointed Assistant Professor at the University. During World War II, Churchman headed the mathematical section of the U.S. Ordnance Laboratory at the Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia and devised a way to test small arms ammunition and detonators based on the statistical methods of bioassay.[1] He also investigated the theory of detonation, applying high-speed photography. In 1945, back in Pennsylvania he was elected Chairman of the Department of Philosophy. In 1951, Churchman moved to the Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio, and until 1957 he was Professor of Engineering Administration at Case. In 1957, he joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley and remained there until his retirement.

During 1946-1954, he served as the secretary and program chairman of the American Philosophy of Science Association. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Churchman was a founding member of TIMS, now INFORMS, and served as its ninth president in 1962. In 1989, Churchman was elected president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences.

Churchman edited the journal Philosophy of Science for a long period beginning in 1948. He also served as the first editor-in-chief of the journal Management Science in 1954.

Churchman’s honors include the Academy of Management’s Best Book in Management Award and the McKinsey Book Award, both in 1968.[3] His work was further honored through three honorary doctorates given to him by Washington University in St. Louis in 1975, the University of Lund, Sweden in 1984, and the Umeå University, Sweden in 1986. In 1983, Churchman received the Berkeley Citation, one of the campus's highest awards. In 1999 he received the LEO Award for Lifetime Exceptional Achievement in Information Systems.

Churchman has been cited by Noam Chomsky as the only professor from whom he learned anything as an undergraduate. A well-known student of C. West Churchman is Werner Ulrich.

[edit] Work

Churchman made significant contributions in the fields of management science, operations research and systems theory. During a career spanning six decades, Churchman investigated a vast range of topics such as accounting, research and development management, city planning, education, mental health, space exploration, education, and peace and conflict studies.[1]

Churchman many writings are a lifelong struggle against the prevailing methodological and epistemological tendencies in the applied disciplines, and their ever-growing specialization and fragmentation in spite of the common lip service paid to the ideas of interdisciplinarity and comprehensiveness. Their inherent positivism, reductionism, and incrementalism is according to him merely functionalistic and instrumental understanding of rationality that leaves no room for ethical considerations. And perhaps worst, the uncritical stance of most disciplines with respect to these tendencies and their repercussions on the social practice that they claim to improve.[4]

In a 1981 lectures in systems science presented to the University of California at Berkeley Churchman he summarized his life-long philosophical quest:[4]

“The design of my philosophical life is based on an examination of the following question: is it possible to secure improvement in the human condition by means of the human intellect? The verb 'to secure' is (for me) terribly important, because problem solving often appears to produce improvement, but the so-called 'solution' often makes matters worse in the larger system (e.g., the many food programs of the last quarter century may well have made world-wide starvation even worse than no food programs would have done.) The verb 'to secure' means that in the larger system over time the improvement persists. I have to admit that the philosophical question is much more difficult than my very limited intellect can handle. I don't know what 'human condition' and 'human intellect' mean, though I've done my best to tap the wisdom of such diverse fields as depth psychology, economics, sociology, anthropology, public health, management science, education, literature, and history. But to me the essence of philosophy is to pose serious and meaningful questions that are too difficult for any of us to answer in our lifetimes. Wisdom, or the love of wisdom, is just that: thought likes solutions, wisdom abhors them.”[5]

Churchman devoted his career to applying rational and systematic thinking to promote human flourishing. He defined OR as an intellectual tool ‘‘to secure improvement in the human condition by means of the scientific method.’’ His view of the field and its possibilities was wide ranging, sweeping in all disciplines and all walks of life. Every word in his conception of the field as developed in his major writings had a deep meaning for him.[2]

[edit] General Logic of Propositions

Under the direction of the noted logician Henry Bradford Smith in the end of the 1930s, Churchman initially focused his work on logic and statistics, and wrote his dissertation in 1938 with the title "Toward a General Logic of Propositions". In this work he tried to proved that a family of logics could be derived from a more parsimonious set of elemental premises than previously thought possible.

At the University of Pennsylvania in the 1940s Churchman taught courses in the methodology of the formal and nonformal sciences. In 1940 he wrote a basic text, "Elements of Logic", and translated Saccheri's "Euclid Vindicated of Every Blemish".[6] Back at the University of Pennsylvania, he and Russell L. Ackoff, his first doctoral student, tried to establish the "Institute of Experimental Method", dedicated to applying Edgar Arthur Singer's concept of experiment to real social problems. They aimed to apply Singer's "experimentalist" philosophy to societal issues such as problems of city planning, management, education, and others.

Churchman was particularly interested in Singer's arguments of the irreducibility of aspects of life. William James had taught that the truth of any proposition is judged by its practical outcome. Singer sought to systematize this fundamental assumption of pragmatism. Singer was concerned that all sciences presuppose each other and cannot be separated.[7] Churchman himself would questioned sience. He asked "How can we create a science which is meaningful, that is, a science that will use reason to provide guidelines to men in the improvement and maturation of their own lives and of social systems? Can there be a science of the ethics of the whole system?"[8]. At Pennsylvania, the Philosophy Department did not appreciate this effort to practice philosophy as an applied discipline. The Institute could not be founded formally.[9]

He returned to his alma mater after World War II as an assistant professor in philosophy and wrote the book "Psychologistics" with Russell L. Ackoff in 1946, in which they wanted to provide a basic overall language for the social sciences based on Singer theory of purposive behavior. He also wrote Theory of Experimental Inference to provide the basic methodology for this effort.[6]

[edit] Operations research

In the 1950s Churchman jointed as Professor of Engineering Administration at the Case Institute of Technology, in Cleveland. Here he organized the first operations research academic group, and founded the first graduate MS and PhD programs in operations research.[6] In 1957 he co-authored the first textbook, "Introduction to Operations Research" together with Russell L. Ackoff and E.L. Arnoff. The first part of this landmark text defined the methodology of the systems approach.[3] This work laid emphasis on two critical characteristics of OR. It drew attention to the increased differentiation and segmentation of the managerial function after 1900 that had led to the emergence of ‘executive-type problems’ of a complex nature. The purpose of OR, defined as finding ‘the best decisions relative to as large a portion of a total organisation as is possible’, led to the first principal characteristic of the discipline, namely its consistency with a systems approach.[10]

Churchman would further wrote a series of books about the philosophical foundation and implications of Operations research and the management sciences. In "Prediction and Optimal Decision" from 1961 he explores the relationship between problems of value and problems of fact. In "Challenge to Reason" from 1968, he asks whether it is possible to understand the whole system well enough to guarantee the real-world validity of scientific results.In "The Systems Approach" from 1968 Churchman argues that a great deal can be learned about society’s problems by applying systems thinking and stating the results in a clear, debatable form. [2]

In "The Design of Inquiring Systems" from 1971 he propose a general theoretical approach to systems thinking and to social systems design, based on epistemological insights of leading philosophers like Leibniz, Locke, Kant, Hegel, and Singer. In "The Systems Approach and Its Enemies" from 1979, he argues that other approaches to solving human problems (such as politics, morality, religion, and aesthetics) place limits on the power of rationality and therefore must be incorporated in order to secure improvements in the human condition. Eventually in "Thought and Wisdom" from 1982 Churchman gives a personal reflection on his career in applying Operations research to a wide variety of social problems, which states that thought, as reflected in the systems approach, stresses the pursuit of the truth but that successful solutions also require wisdom and an emphasis on the good and the beautiful.[2]

He joined the School of Business Administration at UC Berkeley in 1958 and initiated master's and doctoral programs in operations research. He also helped found the Center for Research in Management Science.[1] He founded and assisted in the direction of this organized research unit on campus. Significant projects under its sponsorship have included the implementation in Operations Research and Research Management Improvement programs.[6]

[edit] Space Sciences Laboratories

From 1965 to 1971 Churchman was Associate Director and Research Philosopher, Space Sciences Laboratories, University of California, Berkeley. He directed the Social Sciences Program of the Space Sciences Laboratories, funded by the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA). Investigation comprised a study of the management of research in industry and government.[6]

Beside for NASA he over the years consulted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and many other organizations.[1] From 1962 to 1963 he had also served as a research director of System Development Corporation. These additional appointments outside of the Business School made sure the field he had chosen for practicing applied philosophy did not become a new ivory tower.[9]

[edit] The Systems Approach

In 1972, Churchman was part of a group that developed the plans for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, a non-governmental research institute sponsored by scientific organizations from 17 countries. Its task was to research systems analysis for models for information and forecasting for use in energy, the environment and resources, agriculture and other fields.[1]

The Systems Approach, according to Churchmann, "belongs to a whole class of approaches to managing and planning our human affairs with the intent that we as a living species conduct ourselves properly in this world. Everyone adopts at least one such approach during her/his life, even if he/she is a recluse, an agnostic, a nihilist. The systems approach is, therefore, only one approach to the way in which humans should respond to reality; but it is a 'grand' approach, by which I mean 'large', 'gigantic', or 'comprehensive'. It is one of the approaches based on the fundamental principle that all aspects of the human world should be tied together in one grand rational scheme, just as astronomers believe that the whole universe is tied together by a set of coherent 'laws'." [11][9]

[edit] Peace and Conflict Studies

C. West Churchman in the 1990s.
C. West Churchman in the 1990s.

From 1983 until 1996 Churchman is Professor, Peace and Conflict Studies, University of California, Berkeley, where he taught classed in Peace and Ethics and writes extensively on this subject.[6]

During the 1980s, Churchman became one of leading advocates within the Peace and Conflict Department at UC Berkeley, where he integrated his pioneering work related to systems management and peace and conflict studies.

The tools which Churchman provided these students was monumental based on the reports of peace works they were involved in as well as the gratitude they demonstrated towards him. Churchman's teaching were so popular that his classes had overflows with an annual end of the year event in Bolinas.

[edit] See also

[edit] Publications

Churchman wrote some 15 books and edited another 9 books:[12]

  • 1938, Towards a General Logic of Propositions, Ph.D. Dissertation.
  • 1940, Elements of Logic and Formal Science, J.B. Lippincott Co., New York.
  • 1940, Euclid Vindicated of Every Blemish, Translator, Saccheri's.
  • 1946, Psychologistics, with Russell L. Ackoff.
  • 1948, Theory of Experimental Inference, Macmillan Publishers, New York.
  • 1950, Methods of Inquiry: Introduction to Philosophy and Scientific Method, with Russell L. Ackoff, Educational Publications, St. Louis, Missouri, Missouri.
  • 1956, Costs, Utilities, and Values, Sections I and II.
  • 1957, Introduction to Operations Research, with Russell L. Ackoff & E.L. Arnoff, J. Wiley and Sons, New York.
  • 1960, Prediction and Optimal Decision, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
  • 1968, Challenge to Reason, McGraw-Hill, New York.
  • 1968, The Systems Approach, Delacorte Press, New York.
  • 1971, The Design of Inquiring Systems, Basic Concepts of Systems and Organizations, Basic Books, New York.
  • 1975, Thinking for Decisions: Deductive Quantitative Methods, Science Research Associates, Chicago, Illinois.
  • 1979, The Systems Approach and Its Enemies, Basic Books, New York.
  • 1982, Thought and Wisdom; The Gaither Lectures, Intersystems Publications, Seaside, California.

Books edited by C.West Churchman.

  • 1947, Measurement of Consumer Interest, ed. with Russell L. AcKoff , and M. Wax.
  • 1959, Measurement: Definitions and Theories, ed. with P. Ratoosh.
  • 1959, Experience and Reflection by Edgar A. Singer, Jr., ed.
  • 1960, Management Sciences, ed. with M. Verhulst.
  • 1975, Systems and Management Annual 1975, ed.
  • 1976, Design Methods and Theories, ed.
  • 1976, World Modelling: A Dialogue, ed. with R.O. Mason.
  • 1984, Natural Resources Administration: Introducing a New Methodology for Management Development, ed. with A.H. Rosenthal, and S.H. Smith.
  • 1989, The Well-Being of Organizations, ed.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Kathleen Maclay (2004). "C. West Churchman dies", UC Berkeley Press Release, 31 March 2004. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d Richard O. Mason (2004), "IFORS’ Operational Research Hall of Fame : C. West Churchman" in: Intl. Trans. in Op. Res. Vol 11 pp 585–588
  3. ^ a b C. West Churchman, Ninth President of TIMS 1962, retrieved 22 October 2007.
  4. ^ a b Werner Ulrich (2006), "An appreciation of C. West Churchman, With and Extensive Bibliography from 1938 to 2000" Originally ISSS Paper for the International Society for the Systems Sciences, 29 August 1999.
  5. ^ C. West Churchman (1982). Thought and Wisdom, Intersystems Publications, Seaside, Calif. p. 19f.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Arnold M. Schultz (1996). C. West Churchman : Curriculum Vitae at Berkeley.edu, retrieved 9 May 2008
  7. ^ Mitroff I, Linstone H, (1993), "The unbounded mind: breaking the chains of traditional business thinking", Paper OUP, New York.
  8. ^ C.W. Churchman (1968), Challenge to Reason, p. 83.
  9. ^ a b c W. Ulrich (2002), A short biography of C. West Churchman. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
  10. ^ Maurice Kirby and Jonathan Rosenhead (2005). "IFORS Operational Research Hall of Fame : Russell L. Ackoff", In: Intl. Trans. in Op. Res. Vol 12 pp. 129–134.
  11. ^ C.West Churchmann (1979), The Systems Approach and Its Enemies. p. 8.
  12. ^ An overview of his articles is given in: Werner Ulrich (2006), A Bibliography of C.W. Churchman's Writings from 1938 to 2001. Werner Ulrich's Home Page: C.W. Churchman. Retrieved 10 May 2008.

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