Skip to main content
Log in

Churchman's “anatomy of system teleology” revisited

  • Papers
  • Published:
Systems practice Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Churchman's concept of “inquiring systems” and its underlying “anatomy of system teleology” have been a source of inspiration for the development of Peter B. Checkland's Soft Systems Methodology. The author here provides a personal account of the importance that Churchman's approach has had for him. In the spirit of Singerian inquiry, he also offers a few critical considerations with respect to the assumptions and limitations of Churchman's teleological system approach. (Editor)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Checkland, P. (1981).Systems Thinking, Systems Practice, John Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Checkland, P. (1983). OR and the systems movement: Mappings and conflicts.J. Op. Res. Soc. 34 (8): 661–675.

    Google Scholar 

  • Checkland, P. (1985). From optimizing to learning: A development of systems thinking for the 1990s.J. Op. Res. Soc. 36(9): 757–767.

    Google Scholar 

  • Checkland, P., and Casar, A. (1986). Vicker's concept of an appreciative system: A systemic account.J. Appl. Syst. Anal. 13: 3–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Churchman, C. W. (1969).The Systems Approach, Dell, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Churchman, C. W. (1971).The Design of Inquiring Systems, Basic Books, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Churchman, C. W. (1979a). Paradise regained: A hope for the future of system design education. In Bayraktar, B. A.,et al. (eds),Education in Systems Science, Taylor and Francis, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Churchman, C. W. (1979b).The Systems Approach and Its Enemies, Basic Books, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, A. D. (1972).A Methodology for Systems Engineering, Van Nostrand, Princeton, N.J.

    Google Scholar 

  • Optner, S. L. (ed.) (1973).Systems Analysis, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sica, A. (1981). Review ofThe Systems Approach and Its Enemies, Am. J. Sociol. 87 (1): 208–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, H. (1960).The New Science of Management Decision, Harper and Row, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vickers, G. (1965).The Art of Judgement, Chapman and Hall, London. (Republished by Harper and Row, London, 1983.)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Checkland, P. Churchman's “anatomy of system teleology” revisited. Systems Practice 1, 377–384 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01066580

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01066580

Key words

Navigation