CONTENTS
Foreword by Wolfgang Hofkirchner and David Rousseau xi
Preface to the Revised Edition xxiii
Preface to the First Edition xxxi
Acknowledgements xxxv
1 Introduction 3
Systems Everywhere
On the History of Systems Theory
Trends in Systems Theory
2 The Meaning of General System Theory 30
The Quest for a General System Theory
Aims of General System Theory
Closed and Open Systems: Limitations of Conventional Physics
Information and Entropy
Causality and Teleology
What Is Organization?
General System Theory and the Unity of Science
General System Theory in Education: The Production of Scientific Generalists
Science and Society
Ultimate Precept: Man as the Individual
3 Some System Concepts in Elementary Mathematical Consideration 54
The System Concept
Growth
Competition
Wholeness, Sum, Mechanization, Centralization
Finality
Types of Finality
Isomorphism in Science
The Unity of Science
4 Advances in General System Theory 87
Approaches and Aims in Systems Science
Methods in General Systems Research
Advances of General System Theory
5 The Organism Considered as Physical System 120
The Organism as Open System
General Characteristics of Open Chemical Systems
Equifinality
Biological Applications
6 The Model of Open System 139
The Living Machine and Its Limitations
Some Characteristics of Open Systems
Open Systems in Biology
Open Systems and Cybernetics
Unsolved Problems
Conclusion
7 Some Aspects of System Theory in Biology 155
Open Systems and Steady States
Feedback and Homeostasis
Allometry and the Surface Rule
Theory of Animal Growth
Summary
8 The System Concept in the Sciences of Man 186
The Organismic Revolution
The Image of Man in Contemporary Thought
System-Theoretical Re-orientation
Systems in the Social Sciences
A System-Theoretical Concept of History
The Future in System-Theoretical Aspect
9 General System Theory in Psychology and Psychiatry 205
The Quandary of Modern Psychology
System Concepts in Psychopathology
Conclusion
10 The Relativity of Categories 222
The Whorfian Hypothesis
The Biological Relativity of Categories
The Cultural Relativity of Categories
The Perspectivistic View
Notes
Appendix I: Notes on Developments in Mathematical System Theory 251
Appendix II: The Meaning and Unity of Science 257
References 260
Suggestions for Further Reading 281
Index 285