Werner Ulrich (born 1948, Berne, Switzerland) is a Swiss social scientist and practical philosopher, and a former professor of the theory and practice of social planning at the University of Fribourg. He is known as one of the originators of critical systems thinking (CST) and in particular for the development of critical systems heuristics. [1] [2]
Ulrich received doctoral degrees in Economics and Social Sciences from the University of Fribourg in 1975, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Social Systems Design from the University of California at Berkeley in 1980, where he studied and worked with C. West Churchman.
Back in Switzerland, in 1981, Ulrich started a double career as policy analyst in government at the Canton of Bern, and academic teacher at the University of Fribourg. Here he was appointed Titular Professor of Social Planning in the Faculty of Arts. He has also been Visiting Professor at the University of Hull, the University of Lincoln, the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK. Ulrich is now retired from his professorship at the University of Fribourg but remains Honorary Visiting Professor at the Open University. [3]
In 2001, he initiated the Lugano Summer School of Systems Design at the University of Lugano, which he has been directing since. [4]
Ulrich is co-founder and coeditor of the "Journal of Research Practice".
Ulrich wrote a few books and some 175 articles. [5] A selection:
Articles, a selection:
The philosophy of education is the branch of applied philosophy that investigates the nature of education as well as its aims and problems. It includes the examination of educational theories, the presuppositions present in them, and the arguments for and against them. It is an interdisciplinary field that draws inspiration from various disciplines both within and outside philosophy, like ethics, political philosophy, psychology, and sociology. These connections are also reflected in the significant and wide-ranging influence the philosophy of education has had on other disciplines. Many of its theories focus specifically on education in schools but it also encompasses other forms of education. Its theories are often divided into descriptive and normative theories. Descriptive theories provide a value-neutral account of what education is and how to understand its fundamental concepts, in contrast to normative theories, which investigate how education should be practiced or what is the right form of education.
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The University of Fribourg is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland.
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Gerd Gigerenzer is a German psychologist who has studied the use of bounded rationality and heuristics in decision making. Gigerenzer is director emeritus of the Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition (ABC) at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and director of the Harding Center for Risk Literacy, both in Berlin.
Russell Lincoln Ackoff was an American organizational theorist, consultant, and Anheuser-Busch Professor Emeritus of Management Science at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Ackoff was a pioneer in the field of operations research, systems thinking and management science.
Charles West Churchman was an American philosopher and systems scientist, who was Professor at the School of Business Administration and Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He was internationally known for his pioneering work in operations research, system analysis and ethics.
Donald Alan Schön was an American philosopher and professor in urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He developed the concept of reflective practice and contributed to the theory of organizational learning.
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Rahel Jaeggi is a professor of practical philosophy and social philosophy at the Humboldt University of Berlin. Her research areas are in social philosophy, political philosophy, ethics, philosophical anthropology, social ontology, and critical theory. Since February 2018 she has been the head of the Berlin campus of the newly founded International Center for Humanities and Social Change.
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