GENERAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH: Operational prescriptions
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1397 ▶ |
| Object type | Methodology or model |
According to J.W. SUTHERLAND: “The general systems theorist brings to his discipline or areas of investigation the following operational tenets:
- The postulate that non-mechanical wholes are not simple sums (or products) of the properties of their parts.
- A preference for a holistic as opposed to a reductionist analytical modality when treating the “organic” or \term“{open” systems} which predominate in the social and behavioral sciences.
- The concentration on macrodeterminacy as an isomorphic property of many (or most) complex systems, and as a fundamental point for analytical departure.
- The employment of ideal-types, taxonomies and typologies as fundamental vehicles for the advancement of science in complex phenomenal domains“ (1973, p.34).
As to the holistic modality, it should not be opposed to the analytic one: both seem really complementary. Holistic (i.e. interconnective) aspects had to be strongly restated, but they are certainly a frame of reference for analysis and reconstructability, not at all exclusive of specific disciplinarian and analytic research, directed to the individual nature of interconnecting parts and elements.
As to “macrodeterminacy”, let us remember that the simultaneity of events in different parts of the complex system limits it up to a point, as shown by the theory and models of chaotic determinism.
Taxonomies and typologies are certainly very important tools and systems sciences offer a very significant example: J. MILLER's taxonomy of living systems.