Difference between revisions of "Systems Science"

Revision as of 22:30, 18 November 2023

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. 2.9, released 20 November 2023

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-This Knowledge Area (KA) provides a guide to the major developments in [[Systems Science (glossary)]] which is a collective term for a group of theory and practice developed by researchers and practitioners applying [[Systems Thinking (glossary)]] to a range of problems.  This knowledge is not specific to Systems Engineering, but is part of a wider systems body of knowledge.  We have not attempted to capture all of the system knowledge here, but to identify those aspects relevant to the systems engineering body of knowledge.
+----
+'''''Lead Author:''''' ''Rick Adcock'', '''''Contributing Authors:''''' ''Gary Smith''
+----
+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}}.
+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 System Science]]
+* [[History of Systems Science]]
-*[[System Methodology]]
+* The origins of [[Systems Approaches]]
-*[[Groupings of Systems]]
+* [[Complexity]]
-*[[Complexity]]
+* [[Emergence]]
-*[[Emergence]]
-==Machine vs System Age Thinking==
+==Introduction==
-Many attribute the notion of thinking about the whole to the Greek philosophers, exemplified by the work of '''Aristotle''' in examining multiple discipline related aspects in what is termed metaphysics.  The explosion of knowledge in the natural and physical sciences during the Enlightenment of the 18th and 19th centuries made the move away from this natural philosophy approach to the creation of specialist disciplines inevitable.  The only way for science to advance was for scientists to become expert in a narrow field of study.  As disciplines emerged they created their own models and views of reality, which become increasingly specialized and associated with a field of study.  The creation of educational structures to pass on this knowledge to the next generation of specialists perpetuates the fragmentation of knowledge into the present day (M’Pherson 1973).
+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.
-Along with this increasing specialization of knowledge and education, the majority of western scientific study in the 19th century was based upon '''Descartes'''' notion of [[Reductionism (glossary)]] and [[Closed System (glossary)]], sometimes call '''Machine Age''', thinking (Flood 1999).  This approach forms models based on the study of things in isolation and the establishment of rules on how they relate to each other.  Unfortunately, this also led to a rational science movement, popularized by '''Popper''' (Popper 1972), which rejects any phenomena which do not fit with this rational view as not worthy of study.
+The [[History of Systems Science]] article describes some of the important multidisciplinary fields of research of which systems science is composed.
-While these ideas of specialist knowledge and rational analysis have provided a useful model through which a vast amount of scientific knowledge has been gained, they can also be a barrier to our ability to gain knowledge across disciplines and outside of the closed system view.  The systems movement has its roots in two areas of science: the biological-social sciences; and a mathematical-managerial base stemming first from cybernetics and later from organizational theory.  Both of which have developed around an [[Open System (glossary)]] and systemic thinking approach.
-'''Open system theory''' considers an organism as a complex entity composed of many parts with an overall integrity, co-existing in an environment. In an open system the organism's structure is maintained, or adapts, through a continual exchange of energy and information with its environment.
-==Development of System Thoery==
-[[Systems Thinking (glossary)]] is an approach to understanding or intervening in systems, based on the principles and concepts of systems. In the [[System Thinking]] KA we give some basic definitions of systems thinking and the systems theory which supports it.
-The development of these theoretical ideas to a point where they can be consider be part of the cannon of Systems Thinking is like any other branch of science not a straight forward of linear process.  [[General System Theory (glossary)]] [[Acronyms|(GST)]] (von Bertalanffy, 1968) enables comparisons between systems that rely on different technologies, judging the goodness or completeness of a system, and developing domain-independent systems approaches which can form the basis of disciplines such as Systems Engineering.  While many researchers and practitioners have created GST concepts, these tend to be a stepping stone to theories and approaches.  This situation is made worse by the variety of domains and disciplines in which systems research is conducted and reported.
-While the System of [[System-Concepts (glossary)]] presented in the [[Systems Thinking]] Knowledge Area is a powerful set of ideas for better understanding all kinds of systems it is not rigourous or complete.
+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.
-This Knowledge area describes the most important movements in Systems Science and presents a guide to the overlapping and sometimes contraditory theories it has created and used.
+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.
-Ackoff, R.L. 1971. "Towards a System of Systems Concepts". ''Management Science.'' 17(11).
-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.
-M’Pherson, P, K. 1974. "A Perspective on Systems Science and Systems Philosophy."  ''Futures'' 6(3) (June 1974): 219-239.
-Popper, K. R. 1979. ''Objective Knowledge'', 2nd edition. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
 ===Primary References===
 Checkland, P. 1999. ''[[Systems Thinking, Systems Practice]].'' New York, NY, USA: John Wiley & Sons.
-Hitchins, D. 2007. ''[[Systems Engineering: A 21st Century Systems Methodology]]''. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons.
+Bertalanffy, L. von. 1968. ''[[General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications]],'' Revised ed. New York, NY, USA: Braziller.
-Hitchins, D. 2009. "What are the General Principles Applicable to Systems?" ''Insight.'' 12(4).
+Flood, R.L. 1999. ''[[Rethinking the Fifth Discipline]]: Learning within the Unknowable.'' London, UK: Routledge.
-Page, S.E. 2009. ''[[Understanding Complexity]]''. The Great Courses. Chantilly, VA, USA: The Teaching Company.
-Sheard, S. A. and A. Mostashari. 2008. "[[Principles of Complex Systems for Systems Engineering]]." ''Systems Engineering.'' 12(1): 295-311.
 ===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>[[System Concepts|<- Previous Article]] | [[Systems|Parent Article]] | [[History of System 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>
+<center>'''SEBoK v. 2.9, released 20 November 2023'''</center>
-[[Category:Part 2]][[Category:Knowledge Area]]
+[[Category:Part 2]][[Category:Knowledge Area]][[Category:Systems Science]]