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Ludwig von Bertalanffy Quotes (1901-1972)
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About Ludwig von Bertalanffy
Ludwig von Bertalanffy (September 19, 1901 – June 12, 1972) was an Austrian-born biologist, who grew up in Austria and subsequently worked in Vienna, London, Canada, and the USA. He is known as one of the founders of general systems theory; an interdisciplinary practice that describes systems with interacting components, applicable to biology, cybernetics and other fields. Bertalanffy proposed that the classical laws of thermodynamics applied to closed systems, but not necessarily to "open systems," such as living things. His mathematical model of an organism's growth over time, published in 1934, is still in use today.
Best Ludwig von Bertalanffy Quotes
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful Ludwig von Bertalanffy quotes.
“Wholeness [Ganzheit], Gestalt, is the primary attribute of life.”
“The stream of life is maintained only in continuous flow of matter through all groups of organisms.”
“What in the whole denotes a causal equilibrium process, appears for the part as a teleological event.”
“Apparently, the isomorphisms of laws rest in our cognition on the one hand, and in reality on the other.”
“Progress is only possible by passing from a state of undifferentiated wholeness to differentiation of parts.”
“We are confronted with problems of organized complexity... organization runs through all levels of reality and science.”
“Teleologie ist … ein Ausfluss der Systemgesetzlichkeit und damit ein legitimer Gegenstand naturwissenschaftlicher Forschung”
“It is an empirical rule that living, evolutionary, psychological, social, etc., systems tend toward increasing differentiation and organization.”
“There are quite a number of novel developments intended to meet the needs of a general theory of systems. We may enumerate them in brief survey:”
“# Cybernetics, based upon the principle of feedback or circular causal trains providing mechanisms for goal-seeking and self-controlling behavior.”
“# Game theory, analyzing in a novel mathematical framework, rational competition between two or more antagonists for maximum gain and minimum loss.”
“Scientists, operating in the various disciplines, are encapsulated in their private universe, and it is difficult to get word from one cocoon to the other.”
“We completely agree that description by differential equations is not only a clumsy but, in principle, inadequate way to deal with many problems of organization.”
“What we call growth of even a simple organism is a tremendously complex phenomenon from the biochemical, physiological, cytological, and morphological viewpoints.”
“The characteristic of the organism is first that it is more than the sum of its parts and second that the single processes are ordered for the maintenance of the whole.”
“General Systems Theory... possibly the model of the world as a great organization can help to reinforce the sense of reverence for the living which we have almost lost.”
“# Topology or relational mathematics, including non-metrical fields such as network and graph theory.”
“There appears to exist a general systems laws which apply to any system of a certain type, irrespective of the particular properties of the system and of the elements involved.”
“# Information theory, introducing the concept of information as a quantity measurable by an expression isomorphic to negative entropy in physics, and developing the principles of its transmission.”
“If someone were to analyze current notions and fashionable catchwords, he would find "systems" high on the list. The concept has pervaded all fields of science and penetrated into popular thinking, jargon and mass media.”
“# Decision theory, similarly analyzing rational choices, within human organizations, based upon examination of a given situation and its possible outcomes.”
Ludwig von Bertalanffy Quotes by Topic
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Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Teleology 3 quotes
“What in the whole denotes a causal equilibrium process, appears for the part as a teleological event.”
Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Organization 2 quotes
“General Systems Theory... possibly the model of the world as a great organization can help to reinforce the sense of reverence for the living which we have almost lost.”
Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Conceptual model 2 quotes
“We realize, however, that all scientific laws merely represent abstractions and idealizations expressing certain aspects of reality. Every science means a schematized picture of reality, in the sense that a certain conceptual construct is unequivocally related to certain features of order in reality;”
Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Gestalt psychology
“Wholeness [Ganzheit], Gestalt, is the primary attribute of life.”
Ludwig von Bertalanffy on System
“A system can be defined as a set of elements standing in interrelations.”
Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Progress
“Progress is only possible by passing from a state of undifferentiated wholeness to differentiation of parts.”
Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Systems theory
“[General System Theory]... is a logico-mathematical field, the subject matter of which is the formulation and derivation of those principles which hold for systems in general.”
Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Empiricism
“Science in the past (and partly in the present), was dominated by one-sided empiricism. Only a collection of data and experiments were considered as being ‘scientific’ in biology (and psychology); forgetting that a mere accumulation of data, although steadily piling up, does not make a science.”
Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Communication theory
“The general notion in communication theory is that of information. In many cases, the flow of information corresponds to a flow of energy, e.g. if light waves emitted by some objects reach the eye or a photoelectric cell, elicit some reaction of the organism or some machinery, and thus convey information.”
Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Systems thinking
“Systems thinking plays a dominant role in a wide range of fields from industrial enterprise and armaments to esoteric topics of pure science. Innumerable publications, conferences, symposia and courses are devoted to it. Professions and jobs have appeared in recent years which, unknown a short while ago, go under names such as systems design, systems analysis, systems engineering and others.”
Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Systems engineering
“Systems thinking plays a dominant role in a wide range of fields from industrial enterprise and armaments to esoteric topics of pure science. Innumerable publications, conferences, symposia and courses are devoted to it. Professions and jobs have appeared in recent years which, unknown a short while ago, go under names such as systems design, systems analysis, systems engineering and others.”
Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Calculating machine
“If the variables are continuous, this definition [Ashby’s fundamental concept of machine] corresponds to the description of a dynamic system by a set of ordinary differential equations with time as the independent variable. However, such representation by differential equations is too restricted for a theory to include biological systems and calculating machines where discontinuities are ubiquitous.”
What Ludwig von Bertalanffy Said About Others
Discover personal opinions Ludwig von Bertalanffy shared regarding contemporaries.
Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Ervin László
“We are living in a time of dissent, upheaval, revolutions and struggle, frequently aimed at mutual destruction.”
Quotes About Ludwig von Bertalanffy
Gain deeper perspective through quotes about Ludwig von Bertalanffy from others.
Jacques Monod on Ludwig von Bertalanffy
“What I consider completely sterile is the attitude, for instance, of Bertalanffy who is going around and jumping around for years saying that all the analytical science and molecular biology doesn’t really get to interesting results; let’s talk in terms of general systems theory … there cannot be anything such as general systems theory, it’s impossible. Or, if it existed, it would be meaningless.”
Thaddus E. Weckowicz on Ludwig von Bertalanffy
“Ludwig von Bertalanffy, a distinguished biologist, occupies an important position in the intellectual history of the twentieth century. His contributions went beyond biology, and extended to psychology, psychiatry, sociology, cybernetics, history and philosophy. Some of his admirers even believe that von Bertalanffy's general systems theory could provide a conceptual framework for all these disciplines.”
Katie Salen on Ludwig von Bertalanffy
“Many of the ideas surrounding systems and systems theory come from Ludwig von Bertalanffy's 1928 graduate thesis, in which he describes organisms as living systems.”
About Ludwig von Bertalanffy
Ludwig von Bertalanffy (September 19, 1901 – June 12, 1972) was an Austrian-born biologist, who grew up in Austria and subsequently worked in Vienna, London, Canada, and the USA. He is known as one of the founders of general systems theory; an interdisciplinary practice that describes systems with interacting components, applicable to biology, cybernetics and other fields. Bertalanffy proposed that the classical laws of thermodynamics applied to closed systems, but not necessarily to "open systems," such as living things. His mathematical model of an organism's growth over time, published in 1934, is still in use today.