Systems science

Impression of systems thinking about society.

Systems science is an interdisciplinary field that studies the nature of systems — from simple to complex — in nature, society, and science itself. The field aims to develop interdisciplinary foundations that are applicable in a variety of areas, such as engineering, biology, medicine, and social sciences.^[1]

Systems science covers formal sciences such as complex systems, cybernetics, dynamical systems theory, and systems theory, and applications in the field of the natural and social sciences and engineering, such as control theory, operations research, social systems theory, systems biology, systems dynamics, human factors, systems ecology, systems engineering and systems psychology.^[2] Themes commonly stressed in system science are (a) holistic view, (b) interaction between a system and its embedding environment, and (c) complex (often subtle) trajectories of dynamic behavior that sometimes are stable (and thus reinforcing), while at various 'boundary conditions' can become wildly unstable (and thus destructive). Concerns about Earth-scale biosphere/geosphere dynamics is an example of the nature of problems to which systems science seeks to contribute meaningful insights.

Theories

Since the emergence of the General Systems Research in the 1950s,^[3] systems thinking and systems science have developed into many theoretical frameworks.

Systems notes of Henk Bikker, TU Delft, 1991

Systems analysis

Systems analysis is the branch of systems science that analyzes systems, the interactions within those systems, and/or interaction with its environment,^[4] often prior to their automation as computer models. This field is closely related to operations research.

Systems design

Systems design is the process of "establishing and specifying the optimum system component configuration for achieving specific goal or objective."^[4] For example in computing, systems design can define the hardware and systems architecture which includes many sub-architectures including software architecture, components, modules, interfaces, and data, as well as security, information, and others, for a computer system to satisfy specified requirements.

System dynamics

System dynamics is an approach to understanding the behavior of complex systems over time. It offers "simulation technique for modeling business and social systems,"^[5] which deals with internal feedback loops and time delays that affect the behavior of the entire system. What makes using system dynamics different from other approaches to studying complex systems is the use of feedback loops and stocks and flows.

Systems engineering

systems. It is the "art and science of creating whole solutions to complex problems,"^[6] for example: signal processing systems, control systems and communication system, or other forms of high-level modelling and design in specific fields of engineering.

Systems Methodologies

There are several types of Systems Methodologies, that is, disciplines for analysis of systems. For example:

• problem solving and in the management of change. It was developed in England by academics at the University of Lancaster Systems Department through a ten-year Action Research programme.
• System Development Methodology (SDM) in the field of IT development is a general term applied to a variety of structured, organized processes for developing information technology and embedded software systems.
• Viable systems approach (vSa) is a methodology useful for the understanding and governance of complex phenomena; it has been successfully proposed in the field of management, decision making, marketing and service.

Systems theories

Systems theory is an interdisciplinary field that studies complex systems in nature, society, and science. More specifically, it is a conceptual framework by which one can analyze and/or describe any group of objects that work in concert to produce some result.

Systemic economy

Risk, systemic challenges, societal change, industries and economy are connected to each other. Invisible links provoke impact between apparent unconnected issues. Systemic economy can bring systemic solutions to historical challenges, instead of linear solutions which are partial and unsustainable.

Systems science

Systems sciences are scientific disciplines partly based on systems thinking such as chaos theory, complex systems, control theory, cybernetics, sociotechnical systems theory, systems biology, systems ecology, systems psychology and the already mentioned systems dynamics, systems engineering, and systems theory.

Fields

Systems sciences cover formal sciences like dynamical systems theory and applications in the natural and social sciences and engineering, such as social systems theory and systems dynamics.

Systems scientists

General systems scientists can be divided into different generations. The founders of the systems movement like Anatol Rapoport were all born between 1900 and 1920. They all came from different natural and social science disciplines and joined forces in the 1950s to establish the general systems theory paradigm. Along with the organization of their efforts a first generation of systems scientists rose.

Among them were other scientists like Ackoff, Ashby and Churchman, who popularized the systems concept in the 1950s and 1960s. These scientists inspired and educated a second generation with more notable scientists like Ervin Laszlo (1932) and Fritjof Capra (1939), who wrote about systems theory in the 1970s and 1980s. Others got acquainted and started studying these works in the 1980s and started writing about it since the 1990s. Debora Hammond can be seen as a typical representative of these third generation of general systems scientists.

Organizations

The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Kenneth Boulding, Ralph Gerard, and Anatol Rapoport.

In the field of systems science the cybernetic and systems research and systems applications and to serve the international systems community.

The best known research institute in the field is the David Pines, Stirling Colgate, Murray Gell-Mann, Nick Metropolis, Herb Anderson, Peter A. Carruthers, and Richard Slansky. All but Pines and Gell-Mann were scientists with Los Alamos National Laboratory. SFI's original mission was to disseminate the notion of a separate interdisciplinary research area, complexity theory referred to at SFI as complexity science.

See also

• List of systems sciences organizations
• List of systems scientists
• Principia Cybernetica
• System engineering
• Systemics
• Systems theory
• Systems theory in archaeology
• Systems theory in anthropology
• Systems theory in political science
• World-systems theory
• System equivalence
• Antireductionism
• EGanges

References

Further reading

• B. A. Bayraktar, Education in Systems Science, 1979, 369 pp.
• Kenneth D. Bailey, "Fifty Years of Systems Science:Further Reflections", Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 22, 2005, pp. 355–361. doi:10.1002/sres.711
• Robert L. Flood, Ewart R Carson, Dealing with Complexity: An Introduction to the Theory and Application of Systems Science, 1988.
• George J. Klir, Facets of Systems Science, Plenum Press, 1991.
• Ervin László, Systems Science and World Order: Selected Studies, 1983.
• Anatol Rapoport (ed.), General Systems: Yearbook of the Society for the Advancement of General Systems Theory, Society for General Systems Research, Vol 1., 1956.
• Rugai, Nick, Computational Epistemology: From Reality to Wisdom, Second Edition, Book, 2013, Lulu Press, ISBN 978-1-300-47723-5
• Li D. Xu, "The contributions of Systems Science to Information Systems Research", Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 17, 2000, pp. 105–116.
• Graeme Donald Snooks, "A general theory of complex living systems: Exploring the demand side of dynamics", Complexity, vol. 13, no. 6, July/August 2008.
• John N. Warfield, "A proposal for Systems Science", Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 20, 2003, pp. 507–520. doi:10.1002/sres.528

External links

• Principia Cybernetica Web
• International Society for the System Sciences
• UK Systems Society