Systems theory

Systems theory or systemics is an interdisciplinary field which studies relationships of systems as a whole. Modern systems theory was founded by Ludwig von Bertalanffy, William Ross Ashby and others between the 1940s and the 1970s on principles from philosophy, physics, biology and engineering and later grew into numerous fields including philosophy, sociology, organizational theory, management, psychotherapy (within family systems therapy) and economics among others. Cybernetics is a closely related field. In recent times complex systems has increasingly been used as a synonym.

See also

• William Ross Ashby
• autopoiesis
• cybernetics
• Jay Wright Forrester
• Buckminster Fuller
• Hierarchical system theory
• Important publications in systems theory
• system
• systems theory in archaeology
• systems thinking
• systemantics
• Arshad Tanveer
• Tectology