SYSTEM (Conceptual or formal)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3343 ▶ |
| Object type | Epistemology, ontology or semantics, Methodology or model |
- “A system all the components of which are concepts” (M. BUNGE, 1993, p.211)
R.L. ACKOFF calls this type of systems “abstract systems” (1972, P.84).
According to F. FRISCHKNECHT and J.P.van GIGCH: “Formal systems have three levels: vocabulary (terms), language (expressions) and system (production). Being isomorphic, models parallel formal systems: code, semantic net (data base), and algebraic structures. In the theory of computation, levels are called atoms, frames, and states. Formal systems are closed at both ends, by their primitive terms, and by the syntax of their logic” (1989, p.242).
The basic problem with all kinds of formal systems is that they are absolutely limited by the scope of their selected basic concepts. For example, linear models, which reflect linear causal determinism, are not apt for the interpretation of nonlinear transformations.