Boundary critique (BC) is the concept in

critical systems thinking Critical systems thinking (CST) is a systems approach designed to aid decision-makers, and other stakeholders, improve complex problem situations that cross departmental and, often, organizational boundaries. CST sees systems thinking as essential ...

that, according to Ulrich (2002), states that "both the meaning and the

validity Validity or Valid may refer to: Science/mathematics/statistics: * Validity (logic), a property of a logical argument * Scientific: ** Internal validity, the validity of causal inferences within scientific studies, usually based on experiments ** ...

of professional

proposition In logic and linguistics, a proposition is the meaning of a declarative sentence. In philosophy, " meaning" is understood to be a non-linguistic entity which is shared by all sentences with the same meaning. Equivalently, a proposition is the no ...

s always depend on boundary judgments as to what 'facts' (

observation Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data via the use of scientific instruments. The ...

) and 'norms' (valuation standards) are to be considered relevant" or not. Boundary critique is a general

systems thinking Systems thinking is a way of making sense of the complexity of the world by looking at it in terms of wholes and relationships rather than by splitting it down into its parts. It has been used as a way of exploring and developing effective actio ...

principle similar to concepts as

multiple perspective Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

s, and interconnectedness. Boundary critique according to Cabrera (2006) is "in a way identical to distinction making as both processes cause one to demarcate between what is in and what is out of a particular construct. Boundary critique may also allude to how one must be explicit (e.g., critical) of these boundary decisions. Distinction making, on the other hand, is autonomic—one constantly makes distinctions all of the time." Boundary critique is based on Churchman's (1970) argument, "that what is to be included or excluded for any analysis of a situation is a vital consideration".Carolyn Kagan, Sue Caton, Amisha Amin and Amna Choudry (2005)
"Boundary critique' community psychology and citizen participation"
Paper delivered to European Community Psychology Conference, Berlin, September 2004. According to Kagan et al. (2004) "Something that appears to be relevant to overall project improvement given a narrowly defined boundary, may not be seen as relevant at all if the boundaries are pushed out. Thus, he argues, as much information as possible should be 'swept in' to the definition of the intervention". This argumentation was extended by

Werner Ulrich 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 cr ...

in the 1980s. According to Kagan et al. (2004) he "offered a detailed challenge to the idea that the boundaries of any system are given and linked to "social reality". They are social or

personal construct Within personality psychology, personal construct theory (PCT) or personal construct psychology (PCP) is a theory of personality and cognition developed by the American psychologist George Kelly in the 1950s.For example: (first published 1955 ...

s that define the limits of knowledge relevant to any particular analysis. From this position, pushing out the boundaries of an analysis, in the context of human systems, also involves pushing the boundaries of who may be considered a decision maker". In the practice of boundary critique, according to Ulrich (2000)

(2000). "Reflective Practice in the Civil Society: The contribution of critically systemic thinking". in: ''Reflective Practice'', 1, (2) 247-268 different kind of boundaries can be set based on different questions: * ''Self-reflective boundary'' relating to the question "What are my boundary judgements?". * ''Dialogical boundary'' relating to the question "Can we agree on our boundary judgements?". * ''Controversial boundary'' relating to the question "Don't you claim too much?".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boundary Critique Systems theory