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| Untersuchte Arbeit: Seite: 19, Zeilen: 2-22 |
Quelle: Holmström 1996 Seite(n): 53, Zeilen: 2-14, 27ff |
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| Originally, system meant something composed of elements. Basically, the concept basically refers to a whole, which is more than the sum of its parts. This is how the concept has been understood for centuries. Modern systems thinking originated in the 1930s with the biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy's The General Systems Theory (1976). He replaces the traditional difference between whole and parts with the concepts of system and environment, and focuses as much on relations as on the elements in a system. Instead of emphasizing innate qualities in an ontological tradition, systems thinking suggests that these qualities are only important in interaction. This is a constructivist perspective (Bertalanffy, 1976). We owe to von Bertalanffy the recognition of the concept of organized complexity (as opposed to previously unorganized), and also the distinction between open and closed systems.
Systems theory has spread to most other fields of science, from psychology to astronomy—and to social sciences where the theory is applied primarily to social systems. The systems-theoretic perspective regards social phenomena as the results of interactions between social structures and the functions these structures serve. Hence, systems theory does not put emphasis on the individual; instead it views society from without, from an observer's perspective. The individual, and the values and aims of the individual, play a secondary role in regard to the purpose the individual serves in the larger structure in which the individual is situated. Systems theory claims that the actors' social interactions are determined by the larger social order and that such interactions serve to maintain this order. Bertalanffy, L. von. (1976). General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications. New York: George Braziller |
[p. 53]
System originally meant something composed of elements. The concept basically refers to a whole which is more than the sum of its parts. This is how the concept has been understood for centuries. Modern systems thinking originated in the 1930s with the biologist Ludwig von Bertalanffy's The General Systems Theory. He replaces the traditional difference between whole and parts with the concepts of system and environment, and focuses as much on relations as on the elements in a system. Systems thinking focuses on the interaction between parts, their reciprocal actions and influence. Instead of emphasising innate qualities in an ontological tradition, systems thinking proposes that these qualities are given importance only in interaction. This is a constructivist perspective. We owe to von Bertalanffy the recognition of the concept of organised complexity (as opposed to previously unorganised), and also the distinction between open and closed systems. [...] Systems theory has spread to most other fields of science, from psychology to astronomy - and to social science where the theory is applied primarily to social systems. The systems-theoretic perspective considers social phenomena as the results of interactions between social structures and the functions these structures serve. Therefore, systems theory does not emphasise the individual but views society from without, from an observer's perspective88. The individual, and the values and aims of the individual, play a secondary role in relation to the purpose the individual serves in the larger structure in which the individual is situated. Systems theory asserts that the actors' social interactions are determined by the larger social order, and that such interactions serve to maintain this order. 88 As opposed to the participant's perspective [...] |
The true source is not given. The title of von Bertalanffy's book is incorrectly stated in the source. The author copies this mistake, whereas the reference section gives the correct title. |
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