Skip to main content

Wisdom, Knowledge, and Management:

A Critique and Analysis of Churchman's Systems Approach

  • Book
  • © 2006

Overview

  • Features contributions from leading systems thinkers inspired by the works of C. West Churchman

Part of the book series: C. West Churchman's Legacy and Related Works (CWCL, volume 2)

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

Access this book

eBook USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (18 chapters)

  1. Skepticism, Truth, Certitude and Wicked Problems

  2. Setting the Tone: The Importance of Ethics

  3. Entrepreneurship

  4. New Paradigms: Applications of the Science of Management to Governance and Managerial Practice

Keywords

About this book

In Wisdom, Knowledge, and Management: A Critique and Analysis of Churchman's Systems Approach, the 2nd volume of the series entitled Churchman’s Legacy and Related Works, the editors draw contributions from leading systems thinkers inspired by the works of C. West Churchman.

The Systems Approach and Its Enemies (C. West Churchman, 1979) is one of Churchman’s most significant works. In this particular writing he displayed two main tendencies, that he was a Skeptic and that he showed Socratic Wisdom. In Wisdom, Knowledge, and Management, the editors seeks to follow up on these two themes and reveal how modern authors interpret Churchman’s ideas, apply them to their own line of thinking and develop their own brand of Systemics.

Several authors re-interpret Churchman’s thinking and several others apply this holistic discourse to practical applications. It is very significant that the authors are a very cosmopolitan group: hailing from Sweden, Australia, Spain, South Korea, Argentina and USA. Interestingly, the contribution from the South Korean author, Yu Jae E, applies conceptual tools from the French contemporary writer, Deleuze. Additionally, Darek M. Eriksson’s chapter applies the epistemology of Jean-Louis Le Moigne.

Finally, we would like to note that one theme of this volume is to relate modern authors, and in particular Churchman, to ideas spawned two thousands years ago among the Ancient Greeks.

This effort should show the reach of Churchman’s intellectual power and demonstrates cross-fertilization across borders and continents. It could not have happened without the Internet.

Editors and Affiliations

  • California State University, Sacramento, USA

    John P. Gigch

About the editor

John P. van Gigch is the Series Editor for the Book Series Churchman’s Legacy and Related Works which he was instrumental in getting started. van Gigch knew West Churchman as well as his family personally. Churchman wrote an Introduction for van Gigch’s Applied General System Theory which was published in 1974, with a Second Edition in 1978. van Gigch remained close to West Churchman after the latter retired from the University of California-Berkeley. Right to the end, they celebrated several of West’s birthdays together.

 

Bibliographic Information

Publish with us