General system theory : foundations, development, applications / by Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Foreword - Acknowledgments - 1. Introduction - 2. The meaning of general systems theory - 3. Some system concepts in elementary mathematical consideration - 4. Advances in general systemas theory - 5. The organism considered as physical system - 6. The model of open system - 7. Some aspects of system theory in biology - 8. The system concept in the sciences of man - 9. General system theory in psychology and psychiatry - 10. The relativity of categories

Ludwig von Bertalanffy offers here an introduction to General System Theory which is both uniquely authoritative and broadly relevant. To the student of systems science it will reveal an enlarged perspective ; to students in various physical , biological and social sciences, and to the general reader, it will open a panoramic view of a development which is characteristic of all fields of inquiry into contemporary experience.