| Description |
1 online resource |
| Series |
IFSR international series in systems science and systems engineering ; v. 35 |
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IFSR international series on systems science and engineering ; v. 35.
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| Contents |
Intro -- TABLE OF CONTENTS -- TO THE READER -- Who is this book for? -- What is the central idea of this book? -- How is this book organized? -- Why does this book have a complicated structure? -- Different possible sequences to read this book -- On the parallel structures of Essay and Notes -- Some personal information -- Part I. ESSAY: Ontology of Problems -- 1.1 Synchronics (Being) -- 1.2 Diachronics (Becoming) -- Chapter 1 Being and Becoming -- 1.1 Synchronics (Being) -- 1.1.1 Wholeness -- 1.1.2 Constraint -- 1.1.3 Distinction -- 1.1.4 Persistence -- 1.1.5 Identity -- 1.1.6 Agency |
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1.1.6.1 Texture -- 1.1.6.2 Other Systems -- 1.1.6.3 Embeddedness -- 1.1.7 Complexity -- 1.1.7.1 Networks -- 1.1.7.2 Hierarchies -- 1.1.8 Cognition -- 1.1.9 Summary -- 1.2 Diachronics (Becoming) -- 1.2.1 Origin -- 1.2.2 Development -- 1.2.3 Limitation -- 1.2.4 Complexification -- 1.2.4.1 Segregation -- 1.2.4.2 Systematization -- 1.2.5 Internal opposition -- 1.2.6 Texture -- 1.2.7 Other systems -- 1.2.8 Embeddedness -- 1.2.9 Impermanence -- Part II. COMMENTARY: Recovery of Coherence -- Chapter 2 An exact and scientific metaphysics -- 2.1 The illusion of the fundamental |
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2.2 The systems alternative -- 2.3 A new conception of metaphysics -- 2.4 The epistemological niche of systems theories -- 2.5 Theories and models -- the idea of "system" -- Chapter 3 Concepts and categories -- 3.1 Substance and form -- 3.1.1 A "stuff-free" metaphysics -- 3.1.2 Concrete, abstracted, and conceptual systems -- 3.2 Matter, energy, information -- utility -- 3.2.1 Matter, energy, and information -- 3.2.2 Utility -- 3.3 Isomorphism and emergence -- 3.4 Aspects of complexity and holism -- 3.5 Structure, function, and history -- 3.5.1 Structure and function -- 3.5.2 Adding history |
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Chapter 4 Related fields -- 4.1 Not just mathematics -- 4.2 The relevance of physics -- 4.2.1 Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics -- 4.2.2 Quantum mechanics -- 4.2.3 Other theories in physics -- 4.3 The centrality of biology -- 4.4 Sciences of the artificial -- 4.5 Systems theory and systems analysis -- Chapter 5 The challenge of integration -- 5.1 No singular systems theory -- 5.2 Hierarchy of system types -- 5.3 Categories of complexity -- 5.4 Ontology of problems -- 5.5 Metaphysician's desk manual -- Chapter 6 Science, religion, politics -- 6.1 A macro-historical model |
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6.1.1 A model of diachronic processes -- 6.1.2 The model applied to history -- 6.1.3 On the inescapability of grand narratives -- 6.2 The new science -- 6.2.1 A supplementing process -- 6.2.2 Understanding what we know -- 6.2.3 Fact and value -- 6.2.4 Horizons -- 6.2.5 Personal knowledge -- 6.3 Natural religion -- 6.3.1 Secular Theodicy -- 6.3.2 Metaphysics, a bridge to religion -- 6.3.3 Inner science -- 6.3.4 Revisiting the historical model -- 6.4 Fixing the world -- 6.4.1 Sustainability and globalization -- 6.4.2 Modernization as differentiation systems |
| Summary |
This book develops the core proposition that systems theory is an attempt to construct an exact and scientific metaphysics, a system of general ideas central to science that can be expressed mathematically. Collectively, these ideas would constitute a nonreductionist theory of everything unlike what is being sought in physics. Inherently transdisciplinary, systems theory offers ideas and methods that are relevant to all of the sciences and also to professional fields such as systems engineering, public policy, business, and social work. To demonstrate the generality and importance of the systems project, the book structures its content in three parts: Essay, Notes, and Commentary. The Essay section is a short distillation of systems ideas that illuminate the problems that many types of systems face. Commentary explains systems thinking, its value, and its relation to mainstream scientific knowledge. It shows how systems ideas revise our understanding of science and how they impact our views on religion, politics, and history. Finally, Notes contains all the mathematics in the book, as well as scientific, philosophical, and poetic content that is accessible to readers without a strong mathematical background. Elements and Relations is intended for researchers and students in the systems (complexity) field as well as related fields of social science modeling, systems biology and ecology, and cognitive science. It can be used as a textbook in systems courses at the undergraduate or graduate level and for STEM education. As much of the book does not require a background in mathematics, it is also suitable for general readers in the natural and social sciences as well as in the humanities, especially philosophy |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Online resource; title from PDF title page (SpringerLink, viewed July 14, 2023) |
| Subject |
System theory.
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Science -- Philosophy.
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Metaphysics.
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metaphysics.
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Metaphysics
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Science -- Philosophy
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System theory
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| ISBN |
9783030994037 |
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3030994031 |
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