Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1968) General System Theory, 1968, p. 69
“
Progress is only possible by passing from a state of undifferentiated wholeness to differentiation of parts.
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy on Progress
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Progress is only possible by passing from a state of undifferentiated wholeness to differentiation of parts." in the context of "Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1968) General System Theory, 1968, p. 69" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Progress" (B)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Tags
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.
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.
View all quotes →