(pictured Above Margaret Mead)
An Introduction to Systems Theory
While many view Systems theory, in its broadest sense, as the interdisciplinary study of human life and social organization in terms of systems, in reality, it is the fundamental framework by which one can analyze, describe and predict the behavior of any group of “objects” that work in concert, to produce a result. This could be a single organism, any organization or society, or any electro-mechanical, or informational artifact.
Systems theory as an area of study developed following the World Wars from the work of Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Anatol Rapoport, Kenneth E. Boulding, William Ross Ashby, Margaret Mead, Gregory Bateson, C. West Churchman and others in the 1950s, specifically catalyst from the Macy conferences. Cognizant of advances in science that questioned classical assumptions in the organizational sciences, Bertalanffy’s idea to develop a theory of systems began as early as the interwar period, publishing “An Outline for General Systems Theory” in the British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, Vol 1, No. 2, by 1950. Where assumptions in Western science from Greek thought with Plato and Aristotle to Newton’s Principia have historically influenced all areas from the social to hard sciences, the original theorists explored the implications of twentieth century advances in terms of systems.
Systems theory as a technical and general academic area of study predominantly refers to the science of systems that resulted from Bertalanffy’s General System Theory (GST) among the others mentioned in initiating what became a project of research and practice to develop systems theory. Ideas from systems theory have grown with diversified areas, exemplified by the the work of Bela H. Banathy, ecological systems with Howard T. Odum, Eugene P Odum and Fritjof Capra, organizational theory and management with individuals such as Peter Senge, interdisciplinary study with areas like Human Resource Development from the work of Richard A. Swanson, and insights from educators such as Debora Hammond. As a transdisciplinary, interdisciplinary and multiperspectival domain, the area brings together principles and concepts from ontology, philosophy of science, physics, computer science, biology, and engineering as well as geography, sociology, political science, psychotherapy (within family systems therapy) and economics among others. Systems theory, research and practice serve as a bridge for areas to engage in interdisciplinary dialogue and advance ideas for their own autonomous frames as well as within the area of systems science itself.
In this respect, with the possibility of misinterpretations, Bertalanffy (1950: 142) believed a general theory of systems “should be an important regulative device in science,” to guard against superficial analogies that “are useless in science and harmful in their practical consequences.” Others remain closer to the direct systems concepts developed by the original theorists. For example, Ilya Prigogine, of the Center for Complex Quantum Systems at the University of Texas, Austin, has studied emergent properties, suggesting that they offer analogues for living systems. The theories of Autopoiesis of Francisco Varela and Humberto Maturana are a further development in this field. Important names in contemporary systems science at the dusk of the Cold War include Russell Ackoff, Bela Banathy, Stanford Beer, Mandy Brown, Peter Checkland, Robert Flood, Fritjof Capra, Michael Jackson, and Werner Ulrich, among others.
via Wikipedia
