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"What is good professional practice?
Part 3: The quest for rational action"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, May-June 2012 (in this site).*  

Ulrich (2011b)

Max Weber's influential ideal-types of rational action are analyzed and found deficient as a framework for guiding professional practice. An alternative three-level concept of rational practice is outlined and two examples are discussed.

1.26 MB

"Research, practice, and research practice"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, March-April 2012 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2012a)

"Research practice" is hardly a topic of systematic concern in research theory and philosophy. This essay argues why this situation is not conducive to high-quality research, and suggests two basic models (or strategies) for developing a more adequate philosophy of research.

432 KB

"Towards a taxonomy of research practice"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, November-December 2011 (in this site).*
(Rev. version, 12 Feb 2012)

Ulrich (2011m)

A brief report about an initiative undertaken on behalf of the Journal of Research Practice to support good practice in reflecting on and writing about research.

633 KB

"A note on the convergence of Kant's concepts of rationality, morality, and politics"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, September-October 2011 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2011h)

There is a convergence of Kant's concepts of rationality, morality, and politics that is often ignored but which matters for understanding his work, as well as for meeting our epoch's urgent need for strengthening all forms of integrative thought.

870 KB

"Seneca on serenity, leisure, and philosophy"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, July-August 2011 (in this site).*  

Ulrich (2011g)

Some leisurely reflections about reading – and practicing – Seneca.

543 KB

"What is good professional practice?
Part 2: The quest for practical reason"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, May-June 2011 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2011b)

The practical-normative dimension of reason is largely underrated, often ignored, in today's concept of professionalism; yet it touches upon some of the most fundamental and general aspects of rationality.

413 KB

"What is good professional practice?
Part 1: Introduction"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, March-April 2011 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2011a)

The importance of professionalism to modern societies can hardly be overrated. The more important it is to review the prevailing notion of "good" professional practice.

330 KB

"Exploring discourse ethics (2/2)"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, May-June 2010 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2010b)

Second half of an exploratory essay, includes a fictitious dialogue with Jurgen Habermas about his discourse ethics

502 KB

"Exploring discourse ethics (1/2)"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, March-April 2010 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2010a)

First half of an exploratory essay, preparing the announced third part of the introduction to Habermas' practical philosophy

453 KB

"Critical systems heuristics" (authors: W. Ulrich and M. Reynolds).

Ch. 6 from: M. Reynolds and S. Holwell (eds.), Systems Approaches to Managing Change: A Practical Guide, London: Springer, in association with The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK, pp. 243-292.

Original layout file, available from the Open University's ORO (Open Research Online) Repository in agreement with Springer London Ltd. [For an overview of the five systems approaches introduced in this book, see http://oro.open.ac.uk/21297/ ]

Ulrich and Reynolds (2010)

A new introduction to critical systems heuristics, written jointly by the developer and an experienced practitioner of CSH. Explains core concepts in detail and illustrates their use by means of two case studies from the domain of environmental planning and management.

378 KB

"Reflections on reflective practice (6b/7): Argumentation theory and practical discourse – Habermas 2"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, November-December 2009 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2009f)

Second part of a three-part introduction to Habermas' practical philosophy, with a particular focus on methodological foundations.

578 KB

"Reflections on reflective practice (6a/7): Communicative rationality and formal pragmatics – Habermas 1"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, September-October 2009 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2009e)

First part of a three-part introduction to Habermas' practical philosophy, with a particular focus on methodological foundations

398 KB

"Cloudspotter's summer break: Reading Habermas in the garden chair"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, July-August 2009 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2009d)

Some notes on the experience of reading Habermas once again, some thirty years later

532 KB

"Reflections on reflective practice (5/7): Practical reason and rational ethics: Kant"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, March-April 2009 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2009c)

An introduction to Kant's practical philosophy, with special emphasis on the link it establishes – in the form of the principle of moral universalization – between ethics and rationality

554 KB

"Can we secure future-responsive management through systems thinking and design?"

Revised postpublication version of an article written in honor of C. West Churchman, originally published in Interfaces, 24, No. 4, 1994, pp. 26-37, and previously revised in 2002.*

Ulrich (2009b)

A discussion of the requirements of future-responsive management in the light of C.W. Churchman's philosophy of social systems design
(2009 revision)

269 KB

"Reflections on reflective practice (4/7): Philosophy of practice and Aristotelian virtue ethics"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, January-February 2009 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2009a)

To prepare the ground for mobilizing practical philosophy as a third pillar of reflective practice, this article offers a general introduction to practical philosophy, followed by a review of Aristotle's early ideas on the subject.

408 KB

"Practical reason: drawing the future into the present"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, November-December 2008 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2008e)

A Christmas reflection on the role of faith and its relation to practical reason, inspired by Benedict XVI's Encyclical letter Spe Salvi

295 KB

"Reflections on reflective practice (3/7): In search of practical reason"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, September-October 2008 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2008d)

A detailed review of the "personal knowledge" paradigm of the founding fathers of today's reflective practice mainstream reveals the deeper reasons for its failure to ground its concept of professional competence in practical philosophy, in addition to psychology and science theory. This leads to a basic exploration of what might be done to increase the appeal of practical philosophy to reflective practitioners.

353 KB

"Lugano Summer School (LSS 2008) memories"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, July-August 2008 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2008c)

Memories of the Doctoral and Postdoctoral Summer School on Soft and Critical Systems Thinking, which took place at the University of Lugano from the 2nd to the 13th of June, 2008. Includes photos of the class and contributions by participants.

425 KB

"Reflections on reflective practice (2/7): Applied science and expertise, or the art of testing and contesting practical claims"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, May-June 2008 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2008b)

A look at the role of science education today, and an attempt to redefine applied science and expertise so that they would be conducive to reflective professional practice

322 KB

"Reflections on reflective practice (1/7): The mainstream concept of reflective practice and its blind spot"

PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, March-April 2008 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2008a)

A critique of the soft (psychological) bent of the notion of "reflective practice" as it has developed in the professional education literature, and of the way this neglects essential challenges that professional education faces today

294 KB

"The greening of pragmatism (3/3).
Part (iii): The way ahead"

(Reflections on critical pragmatism, Part 6)
PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, September-October 2007 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2007f)

An analysis of the interdependence of three methodological cornerstones of critical pragmatism – discourse theory (as understood in critical theory), pragmatic thought (as understood in American pragmatism), and reflective practice (as understood in critical heuristics)

392 KB

"Philosophy for professionals: towards critical pragmatism"

Prepublication version of a "Viewpoint" published in the Journal of the Operational Research Society 58, No. 8, 2007, pp. 1109-1113.

Ulrich (2007e)

Pragmatism may be one of the most underestimated philosophies of our epoch. Here are a few thoughts, prompted by a review of pragmatism in JORS, as to whether a critically revised pragmatism might not become the basis of a proper "philosophy for professionals."

127 KB

"The greening of pragmatism (2/3).
Part (ii): Current issues in developing critical pragmatism – a methodological trilemma"

(Reflections on critical pragmatism, Part 5)
PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, May-June 2007 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2007d)

A discussion of the way in which the proposed notion of critical pragmatism differs from other current notions, and of some of the methodological issues it raises

348 KB

"The greening of pragmatism (1/3). Part (i): The emergence of critical pragmatism"

(Reflections on critical pragmatism, Part 4)
PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, March-April 2007 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2007b)

A brief history of the term "critical pragmatism" reveals its emergence from the confluence of different strands of pragmatic thinking

255 KB

"Theory and practice II: the rise and fall of the 'primacy of theory'"

(Reflections on critical pragmatism, Part 3)
PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, January-February 2007 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2007a)

A critically pragmatist view of the relation of theory and practice (Part 2)

284 KB

"Theory and practice I: beyond theory"

(Reflections on critical pragmatism, Part 2)
PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, November-December 2006 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2006l)

A critically pragmatist view of the relation of theory and practice (Part 1)

211 KB

"Rethinking critically reflective research practice: beyond Popper's critical rationalism"

Published in Journal of Research Practice 2, No. 2, 2006, article P1. Also available in both HTML and PDF format directly in the  Journal's web site:

[HTML] http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/article/view/64/63
[PDF] http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/article/view/64/120 

Ulrich (2006k)

A critique of the foundationalist underpinnings of today's most widely adopted model of reflective research, the "fallibilist" model of critical rationalism and its "primacy of theory" doctrine

100 KB

"A plea for critical pragmatism"

(Reflections on critical pragmatism, Part 1)
PDF version of Ulrich's Bimonthly, September-October 2006 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2006i)

The aims, hopes and chances that I associate with critical pragmatism, and the methodological challenge they imply – a "critical turn" of pragmatism

211 KB

"The art of boundary crossing: another introduction to boundary critique"

PDF version of the Picture of the Month, May 2006 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2006f)

A brief introduction to the basic idea of boundary critique and its importance for the "critical turn" of systems thinking

569 KB

"Against plagiarism"

PDF version of the Picture of the Month, April 2006 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2006d)

A sequel to my previous plea for open access publishing, explains why open access is not to be confused with a license for Wild West in scholarship

298 KB

"The art of observation"

Published in Journal of Research Practice 2, No. 1, 2006, article R1. Also available in both HTML and PDF format directly in the  Journal's web site:

[HTML] http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/article/view/26/46
[PDF] http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/article/view/26/72

Ulrich (2006c)

Review of Christopher Alexander's cult book The Timeless Way of Building of 1979, with a focus on its central notion of "pattern languages" and what it teaches us about high-quality observation and design (expanded version of Ulrich, 2005g)

176 KB

"Open doors: a plea for open access publishing" (Part 2/2)  

PDF version of the PDF version of the Picture of the Month, March 2006 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2006b)

Second of two parts of my plea for open-access (OA) academic publishing

288 KB

"Open doors: a plea for open access publishing" (Part 1/2)

PDF version of the Picture of the Month, February 2006 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2006a)

An argument for the open-access philosophy of academic publishing, and a collection of resources on the topic (first of two parts)

292 KB

"High-quality design (ii): towards literacy in pattern languages"

PDF version of the Pricture of the Month, November 2005 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2005h)

Brief review of C. Alexander's cult book The Timeless Way of Building of 1979 and some implications for reflective professional and research practice

434 KB

"A brief introduction to Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH)"

Original publication prepared for ECOSENSUS, an e-Social Science project of The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom (14 October 2005), also available at
http://projects.kmi.open.ac.uk/ecosensus

Ulrich (2005g)

A 15-page introduction to critical systems heuristics, both for beginners and for advanced students. (Note: beginners may prefer to start with the two very short mini-primers offered in the "CSH" section of this site, cf. Ulrich 2002a and 2002b)

226 KB

"The moon illusion: short history of a long-standing mystery of science"

PDF version of the Pricture of the Month, July 2005 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2005f)

Review of a peculiar failure of science to explain a familiar everyday phenomenon

601 KB

"Can nature teach us good research practice? A critical look at Frederic Vester’s bio-cybernetic systems approach"

Published in Journal of Research Practice 1, No. 1, 2005, article R2. With a postscript of 10 April 2008 (in the HTML version only). Also available in both HTML and PDF format directly in the  Journal's web site:

[HTML] http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/article/view/1/2
[PDF] http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/arthttp://icle/view/1/1

Ulrich (2005e)

Review of F. Vester's book The Art of Interconnected Thinking: Tools and Concepts for a New Approach to Tackling Complexity (Munich: MBC Verlag, 2007), written in 2005 to introduce English-speaking readers to a book in German language that was not available in an English translation

56 KB

"On plagiarism: considerations for authors and reviewers"

PDF version of A note on plagiarism, February 2005 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2005d)

Eexplains the issue of plagiarism to authors from the perspective of editors and reviewers

66 KB

"The new globalization"

PDF version of the Picture of the Month, February 2005 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2005c)

A brief reflection on the ethical face of globalization and its implication for building a global civil society – the need for globalizing civil society to civilize globalization

277 KB

"Happy New Year? Reflecting on some conditions of peace."

PDF version of the Picture of the Month, January 2005
(in this site).*

Ulrich (2005a)

A New Year reflection on Kant's essay Perpetual Peace of 1795

278 KB

"The safe-harbor metaphor: a mistaken conception of professional competence"

PDF version of the Picture of the Month, November 2004 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2004i)

Professional practice as ship-at-sea repair, or the vain search for grand theory

267 KB

"Nordic transparency, or: Kant's quest for critique"

PDF version of the Picture of the Month, July 2004 (in this site).*

Ulrich (2004f)

Kant's dream of philosophical lucidity

303 KB

"In memory of C. West Churchman (1913-2004): reminiscences, retrospectives, and reflections"

Prepublication version (with definitive layout and pagination) of a tribute paper published in the Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change, 1, Nos. 2-3, 2004, pp. 199-219.

Ulrich (2004e)  

A commemorative essay on C.W. Churchman's life and work, with a section on the core concerns and concepts of his philosophy of social systems design

323 KB

"A brief introduction to 'Critical Systems Thinking for Professionals & Citizens'"

Short version of a talk given to the 8th International Conference on Systems Research, Informatics and Cybernetics (InterSymp '96) in Baden-Baden, Germany, August 14-18, 1996.*

Ulrich (2003b)

A short introduction to the author's research program "CST for professionals & citizens"

295 KB

"Pragmatizing critical systems thinking for professionals and citizens"

Revised and expanded version of a talk given to the Centre for Systems Studies at the University of Hull, UK, on 28 November 1995.*

Ulrich (2003a)

Another short introduction to the author's research program "CST for professionals & citizens"

300 KB

"A bibliography of C. West Churchman's writings from 1938 to 2001"

Updated and expanded version of a bibliography originally compiled in 1999 for the Web Site of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS). First published as an independent on-line source in November 2002, last updated in April 2006.*

Ulrich (2002g) – 2006 revision and extension - now both in HTML and PDF format

A bibliographic source of reference for people interested in the work of one of the founding fathers of the fields of operations research, management science, and the "systems approach"

334 KB

"An appreciation of C. West Churchman"

Revised version of a contribution of 1999 to the Section "Luminaries of the Systems Approach" of the Web Site of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS). The current version was first published in the Section "A Tribute to C.W. Churchman" of the present site in 20002 and previously updated in March 2006.*

Ulrich (2002f) – 2009 revision

A personal appreciation of C.W. Churchman's philosophy of social systems design, and the role it played in my work on critical systems heuristics
New update of 14 Dec 2009

273 KB

"Public policy analysis"

Prepublication version of a contribution to the Informed Student Guide to Management Science, ed. by H.G. Daellenbach and R.L. Flood, Thomson, London, 2002, pp. 213-215.

Ulrich (2002c)

A mini-introduction to the aims, history and present state of policy analysis

122 KB

"Critical systems heuristics"

Prepublication version of a contribution to the Informed Student Guide to Management Science, ed. by H.G. Daellenbach and R.L. Flood, Thomson, London, 2002, pp. 72-73.*

Ulrich (2002b)

The shortest available introduction to CSH

96 KB

"Boundary critique"

Prepublication version of a contribution to the Informed Student Guide to Management Science, ed. by H.G. Daellenbach and R.L. Flood, Thomson, London, 2002, pp. 41-42.*

Ulrich (2002a)

A very short introduction to the methodological core principle of CSH

104 KB

"Critically systemic discourse: a discursive approach to reflective practice in ISD (Part 2)"

Published in Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 3, No. 3, 2001, 85-106 (online journal: http://jitta.org )

Ulrich (2001c)

Outlines a practical framework for applying the "philosophical staircase" presented in Part 1 (Ulrich 2001b) as a way to promote reflective ISD practice

543 KB

"A philosophical staircase for information systems definition, design, and development: a discursive approach to reflective practice in ISD (Part 1)"

Published in Journal of Information Technology Theory and Application (JITTA), 3, No. 3, 2001, pp. 55-84 (online journal: http://jitta.org )

Ulrich (2001b)

Philosophical foundations of a critical approach to ISD, with special regard for a discursive approach

679 KB

"The quest for competence in systemic practice and research"

Prepublication version of a paper published in Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 18, No.1, 2001, pp. 247-268.

Ulrich (2001a)

How can we develop competence in research and practice?

332 KB

"Reflective practice in the civil society: the contribution of critically systemic thinking"

Prepublication version of a paper published in Reflective Practice, 1, No. 2, 2000, pp. 247-268.

Ulrich (2000a)

The most up-to-date account of my research program on CST for professionals & citizens; at the same time a review of the current state of CSH

325 KB

"Systems Thinking as if People Mattered"

Working Paper No. 23, Lincoln Management School, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK, 1998, 15pp.

Ulrich (1998c)

An introduction to my research program "CST for professionals & citizens"

285 KB

"Can we secure future-responsive management through systems thinking and design?"

Revised postpublication version of an article written in honor of C. West Churchman, originally published in Interfaces, 24, No. 4, 1994, pp. 26-37, and previously revised in 2002.*

Ulrich (1994) – 2009 revision
A discussion of the requirements of future-responsive management in the light of C.W. Churchman's philosophy of social systems design
New update of 12 Dec 2009
(with new layout and minor editorial amendments)

223 KB

"Some difficulties of ecological thinking, considered from a critical systems perspective: a plea for critical holism"

Revised postpublication version of a paper first published in Systems Practice, 6, No. 6, 1993, pp. 583-611.

Ulrich (1993)  

Can systems thinking remedy the difficulties of ecological thinking? The need for a critically normative concept of ecology

278 KB