User:Mdd/General systems theory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
General Systems Theory (GST) is
- a collection of general principles and concepts of systems theory and systems thinking.
- it has been proposed in the 1950s by Ludwig von Bertallanffy and others as a general theory of systems and a theory of general systems.
- Eversince different type of systems theory emerged
- but General Systems Theory developed towards a conceptually broad, diverse, fluid and obscure field.[1]
- Alternative names are General Systems, Generals Systems Research, Open systems theory, Systems science, Systems theory, and Systemic theory.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Overview
General systems theory nowadays appears to be conceptually extremely broad, diverse, fluid and obscure. There is no precise definition of general systems theory. Unlike many other theories, it cannot be expressed exhaustively in one or several sentences, and it cannot be called a ‘theory’ in the strictest sense of the term.[1]
General systems theory was conceived by Ludwig von Bertalanffy in the 1940s to provide a working model fo conceptualising phenomena which did not lend themselves to explanation by mechanistic reductionism of classic science.[3]
Early systems scientists in the 1950s had some different perspectives on General Systems Theory. Bertallanffy (1956) saw it as:[4]
- a theoretical and methodological program, aims at seeking principles common to systems in general that may allow scientists and researchers to think more clearly about the goals of any possible system and about the methods for reaching them.
Kenneth Boulding (1956) defined General Systems Theory as:[5]
- is a level of theoretical model-building, which lies somewhere between the highly generalized constructions of pure mathematics and the specific theories of the specialized disciplines
Bertalanffy has always stated that GST was not a theory;[6] And this perspective is shared by for example Klaus Krippendorff, who in 1986 defined GST as:
- A scientific effort to identify structural, behavoiral and developmental features common to particular classes of living organisms.[7]
In spite of these academic perceptions General Systems Theory is nowadays defined still often defined as:
- A way of looking at the world or any part of it as an interacting set of parts.[8]
- A theory based on the idea that to understand the complexity of the real world, we must attempt to model this complexity.[9]
- Theory, created by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, in which complex systems are viewed holistically, as amounting to more than the sum of the parts.[10]
[edit] History
- General systems theory emerged in the 1950s
- Lots of philosophers have been building systems concerning wholes since the beginning of Western Philosophy
- In the 1940s and 1950s different kinds of interdisciplinairy initiatives started
- In the 1960s systems theory became very populair paradigm in science
- In the 1970s paradigm changes
- Since the concept of systems was first formally introduced by von Bertalanffy in the 1920s, the meaning of system has been getting wider and wider. As the applications of the systems concept had become more widespread, the need to establish the theoretical foundations of all systems theories becomes evident.[11]
- To meet the challenge of forming a unified foundation of the theory of systems, Mesarovic and Takahara introduced a concept of general systems, based on Cantor's set theory, in the 1960s. Since the theory of gemeral systems has been esthablished on set theory, one shortall of the "theoretical foundations"is that it is difficult or impossible to qualtify any subject matter of research.[11]
- General systems theory is still beeing developed. In 1999 Lin Yi present the basic features of the naive set theory of George Cantor, and used them to develope "general systems theory".[11]
[edit] General systems objectives
[edit] Basic framework
Von Bertalanffy came up with the idea of General Systems Theory in the 1930s as part of his attempted to build a bridge between natural sciences and humanities. He stated:
- Modern science is characterized by its ever-increasing specialization, necessitated by the enormous amount of data, the complexity of techniques and of theoretical structures within every field. Thus science is split into innumerable disciplines continually generating new subdisciplines. In consequence, the physicist, the biologist, the psychologist and the social scientist are, so to speak, encapusulated in their private universes, and it is difficult to get word from one cocoon to the other...[12]
The unifying theoretical framework General Systems Theory provided employs concepts as organisation, wholeness and dynamic interaction, none of which lent itself easily to the methods of analysis employed by the pure sciences. In general systems theory there exists the system, the system's environment or supra-system, and the components or subsystems. And the theory is concerned with the description and exploration of the relationship between this hierarchy of interretaled systems. General system theory states that a system is a whole and that its objects of components and their attributes or charateristics can only be understood as function of the total system.[3]
In general systems theory a system is not a random collection of components, but an interdependent organisation in which the behaviour and expression of each component influences and is influences by all the others. The interest of general systems theory lies in the transactional process that takes place between the components of a system and between their attributes. It believes that it is impossible to gain a significant undersanding of a system solely by reviewing its component parts and adding up one's impression of these. The caracter of a system transcends the sum of its components and theiru attributes and belongs to a higher level of abstraction.[3]
In later years Ludwig von Bertalanffy came to believe that the conceptual framework of general systems theory, which was applicable to several disciplines, provided such a bridge.[13] The General Systems Theory of Bertalanffy was an expanded version of his open systems theory in biology; and provided the needed conceptual framework for the basic unity of human knowledge, for the unity of natural sciences and humanities.
Consequently, von Bertalanffy was interested in and made important contributions to psychology, psychiatry, sociology, anthropology, cybernetics, philosophy and history. He believed that general systems theory of biology was applicable to other disciplines, in particular to those concerned with man. An organism was a system of complex biochemical reactions. A society was a system of communication patterns and institutions, while a culture was a system of symbols. The systems theory was applicable to physiological, psychological and sociological phenomena. Physical, mental and social events may appear to be intrinsically different, however they are organized in systems, which are governed by the same set of systemic laws.[13]
[edit] Generals systems research
Under the name "systems reseach", Russell L. Ackoff in 1959 states, many branches of modern science has shown a trend of synthetic developmental research methods and results in varoius disciplines have been intertwined to infuence overal research progress, so one feels the tendency of synthetic development in scientific activities.[11]
Early systems scientists determined that General Systems Theory should be developed in two directions:[14][7]
- One "approach is to look over the empirical universe and pick out certain general phenomena which are found in many different disciplines, and to seek to build up general theoretical MODELs relevant to these phenomena," e.g., growth, homeostasis, evolution.
- The other "approach is to arrange the empirical fields in a hierarchy of complexity of organization of their basic 'individual' or unit of behavior, and to try to develop a level of abstraction appropriate to each" (Boulding). Examples are the generalizations on the levels of cells, simple organs, open self-maintaining organisms, small groups of organisms, society and the universe. The latter approach implies a hierarchical "systems of systems" view of the world quite alien to that of cybernetics.
Systems science research, whatever its particular theoretical bias, James Grier Miller stated, is concerned with processes of heterogeneous complex systems. The systems of interest may be living, non-living ir mix living and non-living. The last class incluses bothe man-machine and ecological systems. there is a complex not only because they have many interacting parts but also becasue they change over time in ways that are not necessarily predictable from their initial states. The so called "counterintuitive behavior of complex systems"results from multiple feebdack loops connect nonlinieair variables in hierarchical structures.[15]
Systems scientists use models to display or discover general principles, isomorphisms or formal identitiets among systems of different types or levels. Adequate representation of complex systems require new theoretical models in natural language and in types of mathematics capable of handeling non linieair interaction among a large number if variables. In these modeling of complex systems computers are of great value. They can be used to simulate the interactions of thousands of variables as they develope over time. These models are also used to study the characteristics of a class of systems or to examine a particulair system fro classification, study, or diagnosis and correction of pathology.[15]
[edit] General systems conceps
Systems concepts include: system-environment boundary, input, output, process, state, hierarchy, goal-directedness, and information.[16]
- System
In the history of science, although the word "system" was never emphasized, we can still find many explanatory terms concerning the concept of systems. For example the fifteenth century Nicolas of Cusa linked Meieval mysticism with the first beginning of modern science. He introduced the notion of coincidentia oppositorium, the opposition or indeed fight among the parts within a whole which nevertheless forms a unity of higher order.[11]
- Systems approach
Systems science persues its study from a certain point of view: to understand man and his environment as part of interacting systems. The aim is to study this interaction from multiple perspectives, holistically.[17]
- Systems theory
- Systems thinking
- Unity of science
- Open systems
- Black box
- Systems properties
Isomorphism
- Systems hierarchie
[edit] Organization
The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) is an wolld wide organisation for interdisciplinary collaboration and synthesis of systems sciences. The Society was initially conceived in 1954 as the Society for the Advancements of General Systems Theory at the Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Kenneth Boulding, Ralph Gerard, and Anatol Rapoport. In collaboration with James Grier Miller, it was formally established as an affiliate of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1956.
[edit] Aplications
- Family therapy Education
- In systems theory the family is seen as a continuosly developing system with subsystems patterns that tend to stay in balance and in dynamic tension with each other. The process of stabilizing and accommodating changes into the total faily system is the work of the family. Yje samen theory applies to all levels of living systems such as to individuals and their physiological systems as well as to the comminity outside the family. Each person embodies entire patterns learned, out of awareness in his or her family of origi, and pre-marriage environments and experience. each person's way of doing things, looking ar the world perceiving and ginving meaning to behaviors and events, are contextually related.[18]
- Psychiatric and mental health nursing
- General systems theory is a helpful concept to nurses in the care of clients. It has been adopted from the field of biology to explain family processes and their effects on personality development. Personality theorists generally believed that the usual cause of mentall illness is the result of two factos: genetic physiologic inheritance and the effect of the family environment on the child during infancy and childhood. in order to understand the importance of the multiple forces and dynamics that occur in families, mental health theorists turned to the scientific field of general systems theory to descripe family processes.[19]
- Social work practice
- GST has a significant and enduring influence within the social work eduction and to a more limited extent, practice and research from the 1960s untill the 1990s. And many textbooks contained prominent chapters dealing with systems theory.[20]
[edit] Criticism
Robert R Greene in 1999 summerized different criticisms agains general systems theory in the social work practice:[20]
- General systems theory seems to have little impact on contemporary social work practice. It is often misunderstood, it does not provide guidance for intervention, is vaque and arbitrary.
- General systems theory has become an outmode organizational framework for social work practice. The evolution from psychoanalytic theory to gst and in recent years to linguistic systems parallels the growing empaphasis from modern to postmodern modes of thoughts.
- The traditional application of general systems theory has led the profession to a bifurcated approach to practice that is manifested in a seemingly separate clinical orientation and a macro orientation.
[edit] See also
- Other kinds of general theory
- General behavior systems theory
- General semantics
- Related fields
- Related subjects
[edit] References
- ^ a b Abdur Rouf (2006), "Rethinking Systems Movement: A Proposal for Reshaping it as an Academic Discipline Named ‘Systems Studies’. ISSS. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
- ^ http://www.istheory.yorku.ca/generalsystemstheory.htm
- ^ a b c Sue Walrond-Skinner (1976), Family Therapy: The Treatment of Natural Systems. Routledge. ISBN:0710083254. Page 11-12.
- ^ Bertalanffy, 1969.
- ^ Boulding (1956), "General Systems Theory: The Skeleton of Science", paper was written especially for Management Science, 2, 3 (Apr. 1956) pp.197-208 and was reprinted in General Systems, Yearbook of the Society for General Systems Research, vol. 1, 1956.
- ^ Mark Davidson, 1976.
- ^ a b Klaus Krippendorff (1986), "General systems theory" in: A Dictionary of Cybernetics, Norfolk VA: The American Society for Cybernetics.
- ^ Susan L. Cutter and William H. Renwick COMPLETE GLOSSARY, retrieved Oct 2007.
- ^ Glossary, retrieved Oct 2007
- ^ Glossary, retrieved Oct 2007.
- ^ a b c d e Lin Yi (1999), General Systems Theory: A Mathematical Approach, 382 pp.
- ^ Bertalanffy, 1968.
- ^ a b Thaddus E. Weckowicz (1989), Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972): A Pioneer of General Systems Theory, Center for Systems Research Working Paper No. 89-2. Edmonton AB: University of Alberta, February 1989.
- ^ W. Ross Ashby (1958), "General Systems Theory as a New Discipline", in: General Systems Yearbook, Vol 3.
- ^ a b James Grier Miller (1992), "Applications of Living Systems Theory" in Analysis of Dynamic Psychological Systems, by Ralph L. Levine and others. Springer. ISBN:0306437465. Page 151-180.
- ^ Francis Heylighen, "What is Systems Theory?" in Principia Cybernetica web, 1992.
- ^ Lars Skyttner (1999), p.3
- ^ Fred P. Piercy (1976), Family Therapy Education and Supervision. Haworth Press. ISBN:0866565116. Page 93-94
- ^ Patricia D. Barry (2002), Mental Health and Mental Illness. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. ISBN:0781731380. Page 109.
- ^ a b Robert R Greene (1999), Human Behavior Theory and Social Work Practice. Aldine Transaction ISBN:0202361209 Page 251-256.
[edit] Further reading
- Books
- Frederick Jonathan Duhl, Nicholas Daniel Rizzo, William Gray (1969), General Systems Theory and Psychiatry.
- Helen MacGill Hughes & Roy Richard Grinker (1967), Toward a Unified Theory of Human Behavior: An Introduction to General Systems Theory, 390 pp.
- George J. Klir (1969), Approach to General Systems Theory.
- George J. Klir (1972), Trends in General Systems Theory, 462 pp.
- Mihajlo D. Mesarovic (1974), Views on General Systems Theory: Proceedings, 268 pp.
- Mihajlo D. Mesarovic & Yasuhiko Takaraha (1975), General Systems Theory: Mathematical Foundations.
- Arlene M. Putt (1978), General Systems Theory Applied to Nursing.
- Anatol Rapoport (1956), General Systems: Yearbook of the Society for the Advancement of General Systems Theory.
- Lars Skyttner (1996), General Systems Theory: An Introduction.
- Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1972), The Relevance of General Systems Theory.
- Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1969), General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications.
- Lin Yi (1999), General Systems Theory: A Mathematical Approach, 382 pp.
- Articles
- W. Ross Ashby (1958), "General Systems Theory as a New Discipline", in: General Systems Yearbook, Vol 3.
- Kenneth Boulding (1956), "General Systems Theory - The Skeleton of Sience", in: General Systems Yearbook, Vol. 1, pp. 11-17.
- Mario Bunge (1978), "General Systems Theory Challenge to Classical Philosophy of Science", in: Int. J. Gen. Sys., Vol 4.
- Brian R. Gaines (1978), "Progress in General Systems Research", in: Applied General Systems Research, George J. Klir (ed.), Plenum, New York, pp. 3-28.
- Brian R. Gaines (1979), "General Systems Research: Quo Vadis?", in: General Systems Yearbook, Vol. 24, pp. 1-9
- George J. Klir (1978), "General Systems Research Movement", in: Sys. Models for Decision Modeling, N. Sharif et. al. (ed.), pp. 25-70.
- George J. Klir (1970), "On the Relation Between Cybernetics and General Systems Theory", in: Progress in Cybernetics, Vol 1, J. Rose (ed), pp. 155-165.
- Anatol Rapoport (1962) "Mathemantical Aspects of General Systems Theory", in: General Systems Yearbook, Vol. 11, pp. 3-11.
- Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1950), "An Outline of General Systems Theory", in: British J. of Philosophy of Science, Vol 1, pp. 34-164.
- Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1962), "General Systems Theory - A Criticial Review", in: General Systems Yearbook, Vol 7, pp. 1-20.
- Thaddus E. Weckowicz (1989), Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972): A Pioneer of General Systems Theory, Center for Systems Research Working Paper No. 89-2. Edmonton AB: University of Alberta, February 1989.
