p. 305; as cited in: Cliff Hooker ed. (2011) Philosophy of Complex Systems. p. 189
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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.
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "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." in the context of "p. 305; as cited in: Cliff Hooker ed. (2011) Philosophy of Complex Systems. p. 189" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Ludwig von Bertalanffy" (Quotes, 1920s, Kritische Theorie der Formbildung (1928, 1933): L. von Bertalanffy (1928) Kritische Theorie der Formbildung. Gebrรผder Borntraeger. Translated by J H Woodger as Modern Theories of Development: An Introduction to Theoretical Biology. Oxford (UK): Clarendon Press, 1933.)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Ludwig von Bertalanffy
Ludwig von Bertalanffy (September 19, 1901 โ 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 โ 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.
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