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.

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GENERAL SYSTEMS Metaphors 3)

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R.M. SNOW states: "The conceptual scheme of General Systems Theory relies heavily on organismic metaphors because of its roots in theoretical biology. All systems are described as one would describe living things, using technical biological as well as developmental terminology.

"Any system, for example, can be viewed in terms of its life cycle. All are "born" and subsequently "grow". They pass through "youth" and "maturity" to "death ". A system's self-regulatory activity, moreover, is analogous to the "homeostasis" of animals and plants. And types or "species" of systems are often described as evolving in either Darwinian or Lamarkian sense" (1993, p.142).

SNOW has however some reservations. She adds: "The systems community is able to communicate…through the mixed metaphors they share. There is a problem, however. Few systems theorists are aware of the precision of their language, and how it relates the systems sub-schools to each other. As a result, many systemic "texts" go unread by those outside the field – or even outside the sub-school in which they are written" (p.149).

Systemists should seek to acquire a deeper understanding or the nature and possible uses (or misuses) of their metaphoric language.

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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