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“There appears to exist a general systems laws which apply to any system of a certain type, irrespective of the particular properties of the system and of the elements involved.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: General System Theory (1968), 2. The Meaning of General Systems Theory, p. 37

Law , Appearance

“Our conception is that of a theory about the system in an inertial state… if the organism is a system in an inertial state, as our law expresses it, the metabolic processes generally have to follow the established system; the ever progressing findings must replace the general expression of 'a system in an inertial state' by a more and more detailed knowing about the nature of this system and its chemical, osmotic, fermentive system conditions.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Bertalanffy (1929, p. 95-97) as cited in: Felix Müller, M. Leupelt (1998) Eco targets, goal functions, and orientors . p. 308
1920s

Law , Nature

“Modern science is characterized by its ever-increasing specialization, necessitated by the enormous amount of data, the complexity of techniques and of theoretical structures within every field. Thus science is split into innumerable disciplines continually generating new subdisciplines. In consequence, the physicist, the biologist, the psychologist and the social scientist are, so to speak, encapsulated in their private universes, and it is difficult to get word from one cocoon to the other.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: General System Theory (1968), 2. The Meaning of General Systems Theory, p. 29

Universe , Science

“We are seeking for another basic outlook - the world as organization. This would profoundly change the categories of our thinking and influence our practical attitudes. We must envision the biosphere as a whole with mutually reinforcing or mutually destructive interdependencies.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: 1960s, Robots, Men and Minds (1967), p. 57

World , Thinking , Change

“Conventional physics deals only with closed systems, i. e. systems which are considered to be isolated from their environment… However, we find systems which by their very nature and definition are not closed systems. Every living organism is essentially an open system. It maintains itself in a continuous inflow and outflow, a building up and breaking down of components, never being, so long as it is alive, in a state of chemical and thermodynamic equilibrium but maintained in a so-called steady state which is distinct from the latter.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: General System Theory (1968), 7. Some Aspects of System Theory in Biology, p. 166-167 as quoted in: Eugene Thacker (2004) Biomedia. University of Minnesota Press. p. 150

Nature

“Apparently, the isomorphisms of laws rest in our cognition on the one hand, and in reality on the other.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: General System Theory (1968), 4. Advances in General Systems Theory, p. 82

Law , Reality

“What in the whole denotes a causal equilibrium process, appears for the part as a teleological event.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Bertalanffy (1929, p. 306) cited in: Cliff Hooker ed. (2011) Philosophy of Complex Systems. p. 190
1920s

Appearance , Parting

“We realize, however, that all scientific laws merely represent abstractions and idealizations expressing certain aspects of reality. Every science means a schematized picture of reality, in the sense that a certain conceptual construct is unequivocally related to certain features of order in reality;”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: General System Theory (1968), 4. Advances in General Systems Theory, p. 83

Law , Reality , Sense , Science

“The rule is derived inductively from experience, therefore does not have any inner necessity, is always valid only for special cases and can anytime be refuted by opposite facts. On the contrary, the law is a logical relation between conceptual constructions; it is therefore deductible from upper [übergeordnete] laws and enables the derivation of lower laws; it has as such a logical necessity in concordance with its upper premises; it is not a mere statement of probability, but has a compelling, apodictic logical value once its premises are accepted”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: 1920s, Kritische Theorie der Formbildung (1928, 1933), p. 91; as cited in: M. Drack, W. Apfalter, D. Pouvreau (2007) " On the making of a system theory of life: Paul A Weiss and Ludwig von Bertalanffy's conceptual connection http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2874664/". in: Q Rev Biol. 2007 December; 82(4): 349–373.

Law

“We find systems which by their very nature and definition are not closed systems. Every living organism is essentially an open system. It maintains itself in a continuous inflow and outflow, a building up and breaking down of components, never being, so long as it is alive, in a state of chemical and thermodynamic equilibrium but maintained in a so-called steady state which is distinct from the latter.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: General System Theory (1968), 2. The Meaning of General Systems Theory, p. 39

Nature

“The characteristic of life does not lie in a distinctiveness of single life processes. [Lebensvorgänge], but rather in a certain order among all the processes.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: 1930s, L. von Bertalanffy (1934). "Wandlungen des biologischen Denkens", Neue Jahrbücher für Wissenschaft und Jugendbildung, 10:339-366; as cited in Manfred Drack (2008). " Ludwig von Bertalanffy's Early System Approach http://journals.isss.org/index.php/proceedings52nd/article/viewFile/1032/322"

Life , Lie

“The concept of man as mass robot was both an expression of and a powerful motive force in industrialized mass society. It was the basis for behavioural engineering in commercial, economic, political and other advertising and propaganda; the expanding economy of the 'affluent society' could not subsist without such manipulation. Only by manipulating humans ever more into Skinnerian rats, robots buying automata, homeostatically adjusted conformers and opportunists (or, bluntly speaking, into morons and zombies) can this great society follow its progress toward ever increasing gross national product.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: General System Theory (1968), 9. General Systems Theory in Psychology and Psychiatry, p. 206

Motivation

“A system can be defined as a set of elements standing in interrelations. Interrelation means that elements, p, stand in relations, R, so that the behavior of an element p in R is different from its behavior in another relation, R’. If the behaviors in R and R’ are not different, there is no interaction, and the elements behave independently with respect to the relations R and R’.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: General System Theory (1968), 3. Some System Concepts in Elementary Mathematical Consideration, p. 55-56

Behavior

“What we call growth of even a simple organism is a tremendously complex phenomenon from the biochemical, physiological, cytological, and morphological viewpoints.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Von Bertalanffy (1957) "Quantitative laws in metabolism and growth" in: Quarterly Review of Biology 32(1957), p. 217
1950s

“Science in the past (and partly in the present), was dominated by one-sided empiricism. Only a collection of data and experiments were considered as being ‘scientific’ in biology (and psychology); forgetting that a mere accumulation of data, although steadily piling up, does not make a science.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: General System Theory (1968), 4. Advances in General Systems Theory, p. 100 cited in: Edward Goldsmith (1970-73/2013) Towards a Unified Science http://www.edwardgoldsmith.org/598/

Science , Past , Forgetting

“From the physical point of view the characteristic state of the living organism is that of an open system. A system is closed if no material enters or leaves it; it is open if there is import and export and, therefore, change of the components. Living systems are open systems, maintaining themselves in exchange of materials with environment, and in continuous building up and breaking down of their components.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Von Bertalanffy (1950) " The Theory of Open Systems in Physics and Biology http://vhpark.hyperbody.nl/images/a/aa/Bertalanffy-The_Theory_of_Open_Systems_in_Physics_and_Biology.pdf" In: Science, January 13, 1950, Vol. 111. p. 23
1950s

Change

“Another recent development is the theory of formal organizations, that is, structures planfully instituted, such as those of an army, Bureaucracy, business enterprise, etc. This theory is framed in a philosophy which accepts the premise that the only meaningful way to study organization is to study it as a system.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: General System Theory (1968), 1. Introduction, p. 9

Way , Business , Study

“Progress is only possible by passing from a state of undifferentiated wholeness to differentiation of parts.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Source: General System Theory (1968), 3. Some System Concepts in Elementary Mathematical Consideration, p. 69

Parting

“Decision theory, similarly analyzing rational choices, within human organizations, based upon examination of a given situation and its possible outcomes.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

General System Theory (1968), 4. Advances in General Systems Theory

“General Systems Theory… possibly the model of the world as a great organization can help to reinforce the sense of reverence for the living which we have almost lost.”

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Von Bertalanffy (1955) "General System Theory". In: Main Currents in Modern Thought 11: pp.75-83.
1950s

World , Sense , Help