Systems Theory(complexity, wiki, imported, Proteus)
Systems Theory (or Theorie) or
General Systems Theory or
Systemics is an
interdisciplinary field which studies
systems as a whole. Systems Theory was founded by
Ludwig von Bertalanffy,
William Ross Ashby and others between the
1940s and the
1970s on principles from
Physics,
Biology and
Engineering and later grew with connections into
Philosophy,
Sociology and
Economics, further developed by
Fritjof Capra and others.
Cybernetics is also a related field, sometimes considered as a part of Systems Theory.
Systems Theory focuses on complexity and interdependance. It has a strong philosophical dimension, because applied to the human mind and society, it results in unusual perspectives. In recent times
Complex Systems or
Dynamism, have increasingly been used as synonyms.
Part of Systems Theory,
System Dynamics is a method for understanding the dynamic behavior of complex systems. The basis of the method is the recognition that the structure of any system -- the many circular, interlocking, sometimes time-delayed relationships among its components -- is often just as important in determining its behavior as the individual components themselves. Examples are
Chaos Theory and
Social Dynamics.
In recent years, the field of
Systems Thinking has been developed to provide techniques for studying systems in
holistic ways to supplement more traditional
reductionistic methods, and even to argue for a "feminine principle" of systems, opposed to the dominant masculine. In this more recent tradition, Systems Theory is considered by some as a
humanistic counterpart to the
Natural Sciences.
References
- Daniel Durand (1979) La systémique, Presses Universitaires de France
See also
External links
Some content adapted from the Wikinfo article "Systems_Theory" under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Teoría General de Sistemas
analyse systémique
系统科学
(last updated by Proteus, 9:42pm EDT - Tue, Apr 03 2007)
