Difference between revisions of "Systems Science"

Latest revision as of 23:19, 2 May 2024

Lead Author: Rick Adcock, Contributing Authors: Gary Smith

This knowledge area (KA) provides a guide to some of the major developments in systems sciencesystems science, which is an interdisciplinary field of science that studies the nature of complexcomplex systemssystems in nature, society, and engineeringengineering.

This is part of the wider systems knowledge which can help to provide a common language and intellectual foundation, and make practical systems conceptsconcepts, principlesprinciples, patternspatterns and tools accessible to systems engineeringsystems engineering (SE) as discussed in the Introduction to Part 2.

Topics

Each part of the SEBoK is divided into KAs, which are groupings of information with a related theme. The KAs, in turn, are divided into topics. This KA contains the following topics:

Introduction

Systems science brings together research into all aspects of systems with the goal of identifying, exploring, and understanding patterns of complexitycomplexity and emergenceemergence which cross disciplinary fields and areas of application. It seeks to develop interdisciplinary foundations which can form the basis of theories applicable to all types of systems, independent of elementelement type or application; additionally, it could form the foundations of a meta-discipline unifying traditional scientific specialisms.

The History of Systems Science article describes some of the important multidisciplinary fields of research of which systems science is composed.

A second article presents and contrasts the underlying theories and origins behind some of the classic system approachessystem approaches taken in applying systems science to real problems.

People who think and act in a systems way are essential to the success of both research and practice. Successful systems research will not only apply systems thinkingsystems thinking to the topic being researched but should also consider a systems thinking approach to the way the research is planned and conducted. It would also be of benefit to have people involved in research who have, at a minimum, an awareness of system practice and ideally are involved in practical applications of the theories they develop.

References

Works Cited

None.

Primary References

Checkland, P. 1999. Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. New York, NY, USA: John Wiley & Sons.

Bertalanffy, L. von. 1968. General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications, Revised ed. New York, NY, USA: Braziller.

Flood, R.L. 1999. Rethinking the Fifth Discipline: Learning within the Unknowable. London, UK: Routledge.

Additional References

None.

< Previous Article | Parent Article | Next Article > SEBoK v. 2.10, released 06 May 2024

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-This Knowledge Area (KA) provides a guide to some of the major developments in [[Systems Science (glossary)]] which is  an interdisciplinary field of science that studies the nature of complex systems in nature, society, and science.
+----
+'''''Lead Author:''''' ''Rick Adcock'', '''''Contributing Authors:''''' ''Gary Smith''
-This knowledge is not specific to [[Systems Engineering (glossary)]] but is part of a wider systems body of knowledge as discussed in the [[Systems|introduction to Part 2]]. The SEBoK does not capture all of the system knowledge here; rather, it identifies those aspects relevant to the SE.
+----
+This knowledge area (KA) provides a guide to some of the major developments in {{Term|Systems Science (glossary)|systems science}}, which is an interdisciplinary field of science that studies the nature of {{Term|Complex (glossary)|complex}} {{Term|System (glossary)|systems}} in nature, society, and {{Term|Engineering (glossary)|engineering}}.
-To download a PDF of all of Part 2 (including this knowledge area), please [http://www.sebokwiki.org/075/images/7/7e/SEBoK075_Part2.pdf click here].
+This is part of the wider systems knowledge which can help to provide a common language and intellectual foundation, and make practical systems {{Term|Concept (glossary)|concepts}}, {{Term|Principle (glossary)|principles}}, {{Term|Pattern (glossary)|patterns}} and tools accessible to {{Term|Systems Engineering (glossary)|systems engineering}} (SE) as discussed in the [[Foundations of Systems Engineering|Introduction to Part 2]].
 ==Topics==
-The topics contained within this knowledge area include:
+Each part of the SEBoK is divided into KAs, which are groupings of information with a related theme. The KAs, in turn, are divided into topics. This KA contains the following topics:
-*[[History of Systems Science]]
+* [[History of Systems Science]]
-*[[Systems Philosophy, Theories, and Mathematics]]
+* The origins of [[Systems Approaches]]
+* [[Complexity]]
+* [[Emergence]]
 ==Introduction==
+Systems science brings together research into all aspects of systems with the goal of identifying, exploring, and understanding patterns of {{Term|Complexity (glossary)|complexity}} and {{Term|Emergence (glossary)|emergence}} which cross disciplinary fields and areas of application. It seeks to develop interdisciplinary foundations which can form the basis of theories applicable to all types of systems, independent of {{Term|Element (glossary)|element}} type or application; additionally, it could form the foundations of a meta-discipline unifying traditional scientific specialisms.
-Grounded in [[Systems Thinking (glossary)]] and based on both theory and practice, [[Systems Science (glossary)]] aims to develop interdisciplinary foundations applicable in a variety of areas, such as engineering , biology, medicine and social sciences.
-The following diagram summarizes the relationships between Systems Science and other sections of the SEBoK
-[[File:Fig_3_Systems_Science_and_Systems_Thinking_RA.jpg|350px|thumb|center|'''Figure 1. Systems Science and Systems Thinking.''' (SEBoK Original)]]
+The [[History of Systems Science]] article describes some of the important multidisciplinary fields of research of which systems science is composed.
-The development of these theoretical ideas to a point where they can be considered part of the cannon of systems science is like any other branch of science - not a straight forward or linear process. General System Theory (GST) (von Bertalanffy, 1968) describes fundamental ideas of closed and open systems, system types etc. as discussed in [[Systems Fundamentals]].  These ideas can form the basis of theories about systems which apply across all types of system, independent of element type or application domain; and could form the foundations of a meta-discipline unifying traditional scientific specialisms.
-Many researchers and practitioners have further developed these system science concepts.  This research is conducted and reported in a variety of domains and disciplines and many of these researchers have adding significantly to their own domains.  While there is a growing shared Systems Thinking ethos amongst many researchers we cannot yet claim to have developed the fully integrated, cross-disciplinary Systems Science originally envisaged by GST, see Praxis Framework discussion above.
-This Knowledge area describes the most important movements in the various multidisciplinary fields of research associated with Systems Science and presents a guide to the overlapping and sometimes contradictory theories and principles it has created and used.
+A second article presents and contrasts the underlying theories and origins behind some of the classic {{Term|Systems Approach (glossary)|system approaches}} taken in applying systems science to real problems.
-A second article give a guide to the theories, principles and methods of some of the key Systems Approaches produced and applied by the systems research community.
-Researchers involved in any aspects of Systems Science should have a thorough knowledge and competence in Systems Thinking.  Successful systems research will not only apply this thinking to the topic being researched but should also consider a system approach to the way the research is planned and conducted.  It would also be of benefit to have people involved in the research who have at the least an awareness of system practice and ideally are involved in practical applications of the theories they develop.
+People who think and act in a systems way are essential to the success of both research and practice. Successful systems research will not only apply {{Term|Systems Thinking (glossary)|systems thinking}} to the topic being researched but should also consider a systems thinking approach to the way the research is planned and conducted. It would also be of benefit to have people involved in research who have, at a minimum, an awareness of system practice and ideally are involved in practical applications of the theories they develop.
 ==References==
 ===Works Cited===
+None.
-Bertalanffy, L. von. 1968. ''General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications,'' Revised ed. New York, NY, USA: Braziller.
 ===Primary References===
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 ===Additional References===
-No additional references have been identified for version 0.75. Please provide any recommendations on additional references in your review.
+None.
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-<center>[[Emergence|< Previous Article]] | [[Systems|Parent Article]] | [[History of Systems Science|Next Article >]]</center>
+<center>[[Cycles and the Cyclic Nature of Systems|< Previous Article]] | [[Foundations of Systems Engineering|Parent Article]] | [[History of Systems Science|Next Article >]]</center>
-{{DISQUS}}
+<center>'''SEBoK v. 2.10, released 06 May 2024'''</center>
 [[Category:Part 2]][[Category:Knowledge Area]][[Category:Systems Science]]