The measure of our intellectual capacity is the capacity to feel less and less
satisfied with our answers to better and better problems.
Charles West Churchman (29 August 1913 – 21 March 2004) 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. Churchman was born in 1913 in Mount Airy, Philadelphia, to Clark Wharton Churchman and Helen Norah Fassitt, descendants of Philadelphia Main
Line families. His first intellectual love was for philosophy and this far-ranging love for wisdom captivated him to the end of his life. He studied philosophy at
the University of Pennsylvania, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1935, a master's in 1936, and a PhD in 1938, all
in philosophy. One of his teachers was Edgar A. Singer, who had been a student at Harvard of the philosopher and psychologist William James. Before completing his
dissertation, in 1937, he became Instructor of Philosophy, also at the University of Pennsylvania. Churchman's dissertation was ultimately completed under Henry
Bradford Smith, titled "Towards a General Logic of Propositions" (1938). Upon finishing his degree, he was appointed assistant professor at the university. During
World War II, Churchman headed the mathematical section of the U.S. Ordnance Laboratory at the Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia and devised a way to test small
arms ammunition and detonators based on the statistical methods of bioassay. He also investigated the theory of detonation, applying high-speed photography. In
1945, back in Pennsylvania he was elected Chairman of the Department of Philosophy. In 1951, Churchman moved to the Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio,
and until 1957 he was Professor of Engineering Administration at Case. In 1957, he joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley and remained there as a
Professor Emeritus after his retirement. During 1946–1954, he served as the secretary and program chairman of the American Philosophy of Science Association. He is a
fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Churchman was a founding member of TIMS, now INFORMS, and was its ninth president in 1962. In 1989,
Churchman was elected president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences. He edited the journal Philosophy of Science for a long period beginning in 1948. He
was also the first editor-in-chief of the journal Management Science in 1954. Churchman has been cited by Noam Chomsky as the only professor from whom he learned
anything as an undergraduate.[citation needed] European students of C. West Churchman are Werner Ulrich and Kristo Ivanov who developed his work in related fields
and contributed to its diffusion in Europe. American students of Churchman who have documented their understanding and application of his work are Ian Mitroff and
Richard O. Mason. Churchman died in 2004 in Bolinas, California.
Charles West Churchman (29 August 1913 – 21 March 2004) 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. Churchman was born in 1913 in Mount Airy, Philadelphia, to Clark Wharton Churchman and Helen Norah Fassitt, descendants of Philadelphia Main
Line families. His first intellectual love was for philosophy and this far-ranging love for wisdom captivated him to the end of his life. He studied philosophy at
the University of Pennsylvania, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1935, a master's in 1936, and a PhD in 1938, all
in philosophy. One of his teachers was Edgar A. Singer, who had been a student at Harvard of the philosopher and psychologist William James. Before completing his
dissertation, in 1937, he became Instructor of Philosophy, also at the University of Pennsylvania. Churchman's dissertation was ultimately completed under Henry
Bradford Smith, titled "Towards a General Logic of Propositions" (1938). Upon finishing his degree, he was appointed assistant professor at the university. During
World War II, Churchman headed the mathematical section of the U.S. Ordnance Laboratory at the Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia and devised a way to test small
arms ammunition and detonators based on the statistical methods of bioassay. He also investigated the theory of detonation, applying high-speed photography. In
1945, back in Pennsylvania he was elected Chairman of the Department of Philosophy. In 1951, Churchman moved to the Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio,
and until 1957 he was Professor of Engineering Administration at Case. In 1957, he joined the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley and remained there as a
Professor Emeritus after his retirement. During 1946–1954, he served as the secretary and program chairman of the American Philosophy of Science Association. He is a
fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Churchman was a founding member of TIMS, now INFORMS, and was its ninth president in 1962. In 1989,
Churchman was elected president of the International Society for the Systems Sciences. He edited the journal Philosophy of Science for a long period beginning in 1948. He
was also the first editor-in-chief of the journal Management Science in 1954. Churchman has been cited by Noam Chomsky as the only professor from whom he learned
anything as an undergraduate.[citation needed] European students of C. West Churchman are Werner Ulrich and Kristo Ivanov who developed his work in related fields
and contributed to its diffusion in Europe. American students of Churchman who have documented their understanding and application of his work are Ian Mitroff and
Richard O. Mason. Churchman died in 2004 in Bolinas, California.