Notes on General System Theory

Just under a year ago, I published my brief thoughts on Rousseau et al.’s General Systemology. I had no agenda other than to share a few concepts that I felt modern systems scientists should address.

But after sharing the piece, I was invited to co-chair the ISSS’s special integration group on research towards general systems theories, where we are trying to develop rigorous frameworks for comparing the theoretical approaches of different systems researchers.

While my focus has been and will continue to be on systems science, my time with the group has helped me to appreciate the importance of General System Theory (GST) as a foundational topic that I must explore more deeply.

I’m just over halfway through Bertalanffy’s 1968 magnum opus General System Theory, which played a pivotal role in launching the modern systems movement. Reading it is providing me with incredibly valuable context for my work in the group and studies in Binghamton University’s Systems Science program.

Here are some of my raw notes, organized by theme, provided with no additional commentary.

The Contemporary Need for Systems Approaches

• The fundamental problem of today is that of organized complexity

• We must improve our knowledge of the laws of human society

• A well-developed science of human society and a corresponding technology is needed to save humanity from chaos and destruction

• Society needs to produce scientific generalists

Limitations of Classical Science

• Many scientific fields lack the necessary tools for explanation and prediction that have been developed in physics

• Classical science focused on classification, modern science must confront dynamic interaction

• The "system problem" is the problem of the limitations of analytical procedures in science

Principles of GST

• Identical scientific principles have been found in various disparate fields because certain general principles apply to all systems

• Unity of science can be achieved by identifying structural uniformities at different levels of reality

• The unifying principle of systems and perspectivism is that organization is found at all levels

• Systems theory provides scientific interpretation and theory in new areas, and at a higher level of generality, than the specialized sciences

• GST deals with formal characteristics of systems

Developing Methodology for GST

• A rigorously developed GST should be axiomatic in nature

• If we define system conveniently then we find models, principles, and laws which apply to generalized systems

• If an object is a system, then it must have certain general system characteristics

• GST should be expressed in logico-mathematically strict form and focus on developing general system principles

• Certain system characteristics defined by set and graph theory are broadly applicable to different types of systems, from the physical to the social

Challenges and Practical Considerations

• Set-theoretical connections of axiomatized systems theory with real systems problems are tenuous

• Sometimes it is preferable to start with non-mathematical models

• The intuitive approach to GST lacks rigor while the deductive approach is vulnerable to errors in choice of fundamental terms

• In complex and theoretically immature fields we should be satisfied with "explanation in principle" as defined by Friedrich Hayek