Bertalanffy’s selected writings on his theory of laws applicable to virtually every scientific field. This conceptual approach has had a profound impact on biology, economics, psychology, and demography, with new relevancies today. The new foreword by University of Vienna system theory professor, Wolfgang Hofkirchner, and Centre for Systems Philosophy director, David Rousseau, discusses the theory’s contemporary applications.
Ludwig von Bertalanffy Books
Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy was an Austrian-born biologist, recognized as a founder of general systems theory (GST). His work focused on exploring open systems, such as living organisms, proposing that classical thermodynamic laws apply to closed systems but not necessarily to open ones. Bertalanffy's mathematical model of organism growth remains in use today. His interdisciplinary approach connected biology with cybernetics and other fields, laying groundwork for new understandings of complex interactions.






Problems of Life: an Evaluation of Modern Biological Thought
- 236 pages
- 9 hours of reading
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Le nouveau paradigme systémique initié par la théorie générale des systèmes est à l'origine de la nouvelle conception de l'univers selon laquelle matière et esprit sont perçus comme des éléments indissociables d'un vaste processus d'évolution non linéaire. La théorie générale des systèmes est aujourd'hui devenue une source d'inspiration fondamentale pour toute approche non réductionniste et non mécaniciste de l'ensemble des phénomènes du vivant. La réédition de ce classique de l'histoire des idées scientifiques permet de mesurer l'ampleur de la révolution scientifique dont L.V. Bertalanffy jeta les bases voici près de cinquante ans.