In this article, I look at the idea of “sweeping-in” in systems approach. Sweeping-in can be described as the process of opening up the inquiry of a system by expanding its boundaries. Philosopher and systems scientist C. West Churchman discussed this process in several works, including Thought and Wisdom (Intersystems Publications, 1982) and The Design of Inquiring Systems (Basic Books, 1972). Churchman credited his teacher E.A. Singer for the concept.

The sweeping-in process was introduced as a method for incorporating diverse concepts and variables from various sciences to resolve inconsistencies in measurements or observations. In these books, Churchman wrote:

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