BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

DIAGNOSIS in systemic terms 1)

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We are accustomed to diagnosis of linear problems of the type: "The car does not start because the battery is flat". This is not enough for intricated problems in complex systems (ACKOFF's "messes")

In such cases, diagnosis should be preceeded by a wide inquiry about the multiple historical and present intertwined factors that could have a bearing on the situation. These factors must first be brought to light through appropriate mental techniques in groups wherein all stakeholders are present or represented. Thereafter, their meaning and relative importance must be debated and evaluated. And finally, the constraints and synergies that they introduce must be discovered and also debated and evaluated.

Short cuts in this procedure are always risky, even if admittingly design and decision time are in short supply.

Ill-informed action in complex systems generally lead to unforeseen resurgences of problems under new aspects.

For practical methods, see J. WARFIELD (1994b).

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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