Main entry:

Bertalanffy, Ludwig von, 1901-1972.

Title & Author:

General system theory : foundations, development, applications / by Ludwig von Bertalanffy.

Edition:

Revised edition.

Publication:

New York : George Braziller, Inc., 2015.

Description:

xxxvi, 295 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 260-280) and index.
1.Introduction -- Systems Everywhere -- On the History of Systems Theory -- Trends in Systems Theory -- 2.The Meaning of General System Theory -- 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 -- 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 -- Approaches and Aims in Systems Science -- Methods in General Systems Research -- Advances of General System Theory -- 5.The Organism Considered as Physical System -- The Organism as Open System -- General Characteristics of Open Chemical Systems -- Equifinality -- Biological Applications -- 6.The Model of Open System -- 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 -- 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 -- 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 -- The Quandary of Modern Psychology -- System Concepts in Psychopathology -- Conclusion -- 10.The Relativity of Categories -- The Whorfian Hypothesis -- The Biological Relativity of Categories -- The Cultural Relativity of Categories -- The Perspectivistic View -- Notes.

Summary:

"Gathered here are Ludwig von Bertalanffy's writings on general systems theory, selected and edited to show the evolution of systems theory and to present it applications to problem solving."--Publisher.

ISBN:

9780807600153 (alk. paper)
0807600156 (alk. paper)

Subject:

System theory.
Unified field theories.
Théorie des systèmes.
Théories du champ unitaire.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 291669
Call No.: BIB 235433
Status: Available