LEADER 03929nam 22005654a 450 001 9910959914203321 005 20251116150304.0 010 $a1-280-50127-8 010 $a9786610501274 010 $a0-87081-797-3 035 $a(CKB)1000000000024288 035 $a(OCoLC)614718907 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10069588 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000242223 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11217928 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000242223 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10300755 035 $a(PQKB)11385666 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3039682 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3039682 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10069588 035 $a(BIP)46166245 035 $a(BIP)8158353 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000024288 100 $a20030128d2003 ub 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 14$aThe science of synthesis $eexploring the social implications of general systems theory /$fDebora Hammond 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aBoulder $cUniversity Press of Colorado$dc2003 215 $a1 online resource (333 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 08$a0-87081-722-1 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 279-295) and index. 327 $aIntro -- Contents -- Figures and Tables -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Prologue: The Quest for Peace in a Nuclear World -- 1: The Behavioral Sciences in Postwar America -- Part I: The Sources of Systems Thinking -- 2: The Science of Life: Organization in Living Systems -- 3: Engineering, Management, and the Military-Industrial Complex -- 4: Cybernetics and Information Theory: Feedback and Homeostasis -- 5: Ecology and Social Theory: Structure, Function, and Evolution -- Part II: The Founders of General Systems Research -- 6: Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972): General Systems Theory -- 7: The Chicago Behavioral Science Committee -- 8: Kenneth Boulding (1910 -1993): Economics, Ecology, and Peace -- Part III: Evolution and Evaluation -- 9: The Society for General Systems Research: Establishment and Development -- Epilogue -- Bibliography -- Index. 330 $aDebora Hammond's The Science of Synthesis explores the development of general systems theory and the individuals who gathered together around that idea to form the Society for General Systems Research. In examining the life and work of the SGSR's five founding members-Ludwig von Bertalanffy, Kenneth Boulding, Ralph Gerard, James Grier Miller, and Anatol Rapoport-Hammond traces the emergence of systems ideas across a broad range of disciplines in the mid-twentieth century. A metaphor and a framework, the systems concept as articulated by its earliest proponents highlights relationship and interconnectedness among the biological, ecological, social, psychological, and technological dimensions of our increasingly complex lives. Seeking to transcend the reductionism and mechanism of classical science-which they saw as limited by its focus on the discrete, component parts of reality-the general systems community hoped to complement this analytic approach with a more holistic approach. As one of many systems traditions, the general systems group was specifically interested in fostering collaboration and integration between different disciplinary perspectives. The Science of Synthesis documents a unique episode in the history of modern thought, one that remains relevant today. This book will be of interest to historians of science, system theorists, and scholars in such fields as cybernetics and system dynamics. 606 $aSystem theory$xHistory 615 0$aSystem theory$xHistory. 676 $a003 700 $aHammond$b Debora$f1951-$01709760 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910959914203321 996 $aThe science of synthesis$94359434 997 $aUNINA