Changing Pyramids: Using Causal Layered Analysis for Change

Causal Layered Analysis is a fascinating toolkit used for examining present trends. It is a method of inquiry and reflection, and it can get very intense. I introduce ways to think about how to use Causal Layered Analysis as a way of identifying the changes that might be required to move from one paradigm to another.

It was conceptualised by Sohail Inayatullah, and a version of the publication can be found here.

About Causal Layered Analysis

It’s about delving deeply into the systems that we live with everyday. In actual facilitation use, it is a variant of asking 5 Whys, but it is also more than 5 Whys.

There is a specific order in Causal Layered Analysis.

First, the litanies — the complaints and the headlines that people have in their minds.

Then we move on to the causes — why the litanies have come about. At this level, it’s about the various kinds of analysis that have been done in addressing the litany.

The third layer is called the “worldview” — if there are “deeper social linguistic, cultural structures that are actor-invariant (not dependent on who are the actors.”

The fourth layer is “myth and metaphor” also called the “deep stories” that represent the emotional or even subconscious elements of how people are experiencing the reality. In the context of facilitation, it often is the point when people can’t…