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An investigation of the fundamental principles that underlie this important way of thinking about the world. Topics include observation, definition, boundary, identity, relationship, process, stability, communication, information, and autopoesis.
General systems theory is an organized attempt to explain how the world works. Unlike science, which reduces the world to assemblies of parts, systems theory is holistic. It proceeds from the assumption that everything is connected to everything else. Yet, unlike spiritualistic approaches, it only accepts verifiable data as evidence of proof.
The systems approach (or "systems thinking" as it is often called) has a long history. A few of its major practitioners include:
Aristotole: "The whole is more than the sum of its parts."
Von Bertallanfy: Biology as networks of organic systems.
Ashby, Beer, Weinberg, Ackoff, Boulding and others: organizations as complex interconnections of parts and relationships.
Maturana and Varela: biological self-reproduction and self-organization (autopoesis).
Luhmann: self-referential social systems.
This course intermixes a basic theoretical description of systems theory (Weinberg) with case studies of its practical application (Ackoff).
Metaphors We Live By
George Lakoff and Mark Johnson
Reading and research in additional books and web sites will also be expected.
We will meet in "face-to-face" mode once during the semester. This first meeting is absolutely REQUIRED - anyone who misses it will be dropped from the course. Although online discussions have not been extensively studied (yet), there is growing evidence that people work more effectively together online if they have interacted just once face-to-face. You should come to this meeting prepared to introduce yourself to the group.
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One Final Paper: 12 Online Discussion Board: 52 (4 weekly)
Eight Short Reports and Projects: 40 (5 each) Instructor Bias: 5
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Scale
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90+
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A
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80-89
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B
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65-79
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C
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60-65
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D
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59-
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F
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(Yes, this adds up to 109. The extra nine points are "extra credit.")
See the Assignments and Grading page for a detailed description of the course assignments.