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.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

SOCIETY for GENERAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH 1)

The original scientific body dedicated to systems research.

The Society, states K. BOULDING, "originated in a conversation around the lunch table at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences in Palo Alto,California, in the fall of 1954" (1972, p.79). It was officially founded in December 1954, under the leadership of the Palo Alto initiators: L.von BERTALANFFY, a biologist: K, BOULDING, an economist; R. GERARD. a physiologist, and A. RAPOPORT, a bio-physicist. It was named at that time the "Society for the Advancement of General Systems Theory". The name was changed for the first time in 1957. It published from 1956 till 1984 a Yearbook containing a selection of the best papers on systems and cybernetics and still organizes a yearly meeting in different places in the world. Its membership is completely international and it has National Divisions and Regional Chapters, as well as Special Interest Groups.

The four basic aims of the Society were defined as follows:

- To investigate the isomorphy of concepts, laws, and models in various fields, and to help in useful transfers from one field to another.

- To encourage development of adequate theoretical models in fields that lack them

- To minimize duplication of theoretical effort

- To promote the unity of science.

According to a survey organized by G. KLIR in 1978, W. ROSS ASHBY (1903 – 1972) was by far the most influential person in systems mouvement. KLIR states "The great impact of ASHBY's work on systems movement can be explained, at least partially by the superior clarity of his writings, his unusual capability to recognize important principles where other see only trivialities, his great gift for essence preserving simplification, his broad interests, encompassing both cybernetics and general systems research, and his meticulous scholarship" (1991, p.36).

Since 1988 the name of the Society is "International Society for Systems Science". (see the corresponding entry for other details)

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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