A futures thinking method
Causal Layered Analysis
Look beneath a headline through four layers: litany, systemic causes, worldview, and myth or metaphor.
Draft, to be confirmed by Dr. John.A headline is the surface of something much deeper. Underneath it are the systems that produced it, underneath those the worldview that makes those systems seem normal, and underneath that a myth or metaphor nobody ever says out loud. Digging down through all four layers gets you somewhere an argument about the headline never will.
How it works
- Litany — what gets reported.
- System — the structures underneath.
- Worldview — what makes those structures seem normal.
- Myth — the deep story nobody states out loud.
You’ll try it on a recommendation feed, and the story it quietly tells you about yourself.
Module 4 · Digital Society, Algorithms and IdentityDig down from the headline. Each layer is slower to change and more powerful.
Try it on your own issue
Method source: Sohail Inayatullah, Causal Layered Analysis: Poststructuralism as Method, Futures (1998)