At Least Three Whys
At Least Three Whys is a rule of thumb or Thinking Game about finding a system’s Prime: the system’s central organizing principle, center of gravity, and driving force. It’s an application of Find Big Prime, one of the implications of Rule One of systems thinking: systems should be understood and managed from the greatest purpose and highest unity possible.
The First Why: The first “why” is the immediate or mechanistic purpose of something/system visible from the thing/system itself. It can be discovered through the question: “Why does this exist?” This purpose is revealed in form which reveals function. For example: a hammer in its mechanistic structure — that it has a handle and strike surface — reveals its most immediate purpose: to strike things.
The Second Why: The second “why” is the systemic purpose of the system derived from the larger system to which the thing belongs. It’s revealed by the question, “Why does [the first purpose] matter?” or “Why is that [the first purpose] a good thing?” A hammer’s purpose of driving nails is good because it allows people to do construction.
The Third Why: The third “why” is the metapurpose of the system, derived from the system’s connection to all things, or, at least a great many things. It is revealed by the question, “Why does [the second purpose] make the world better?” A hammer makes the world better by empowering people’s creativity to make spaces for themselves and others to be and thrive: an act of mercy which is a Prime, and, in religious systems, relates directly to God as a Creator making the universe as a space for everything.
Now that the third why has been answered, a big enough Prime for good system management has been established. A person who views a hammer from this purpose will be more likely to take care of it and make it last because he knows the ultimate power and value it provides. It would also inspire them to use it with more artful skill than brute force (which in turn would have a positive impact on their bodies). A person who makes a hammer with this purpose will be more likely to take pride in producing an effective and quality product in light of the benefits it provides. A designer of hammers with this purpose in mind may also think in human terms during the design and materials choice: [1] to make the hammer more ergonomic to prevent worker injury, [2] to make its manufacture process less toxic to the involved factory workers, and [3] to make the materials life cycle have less detrimental impact on the ecological home all living things share.
Generally speaking, three whys are sufficient to Find Big Prime and Avoid Small Prime. In theory, its possible to keep asking “why” until one exhausts their answers. This would approach the Biggest Prime, at least for the system in question.