"Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems, i.e. cohesive groups of interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human-made."
It studies how systems, including physical and social systems, self-organize and maintain their structure and function.
Systems thinking: The ability to understand complex systems and how they are interconnected.
System dynamics: The study of the dynamic behavior of complex systems.
Complexity theory: The study of complex systems and how they function.
Cybernetics: The study of communication and control in complex systems.
Chaos theory: The study of nonlinear dynamics and how seemingly random patterns emerge in complex systems.
Resilience theory: The study of how systems respond to and recover from disturbances or disruptions.
Network theory: The study of the structure and behavior of social, biological, and technological networks.
Agent-based modeling: The use of computational models to simulate the behavior of complex systems.
Adaptive systems: The study of systems that can adapt and evolve in response to changing conditions.
Evolutionary systems: The study of how systems change over time and how they evolve.
Complex adaptive systems: The study of systems that are both complex and adaptive.
Feedback loops: The mechanisms that allow systems to self-regulate and maintain stability.
Emergence: The phenomenon whereby complex patterns or behaviors arise from simple interactions between system components.
Nonlinear systems: The study of systems that exhibit non-linear behavior, meaning that small changes can have large effects.
Self-organization: The study of how systems can organize themselves without external intervention.
Autopoiesis: The study of self-replicating and self-maintaining systems.
Systems design: The process of designing systems that are effective, efficient, and sustainable.
Organizational learning: The study of how organizations can learn and adapt over time.
Innovation: The process of creating new ideas, products, and services that can drive system change.
Collaborative systems: The study of how groups and organizations can work together to achieve common goals.
Cybernetics Theory: This theory analyzes the functional organization and communication among systems and their subsystems. It emphasizes feedback as a method of self-regulation.
Complex Adaptive Systems Theory: It emphasizes self-organization and emergence in complex systems, with a focus on how individual agents interact to create patterns at a higher level. It finds applications in fields such as economics and social systems.
Chaos Theory: This theory examines how small changes in initial conditions can lead to exponentially different outcomes over time. It argues that complex systems are highly sensitive to initial conditions and that minute variations in one component can lead to major outcomes for the entire system.
Emergence Theory: It describes how complex patterns can arise from simple rules, with no central control. It's applicable to systems such as swarm intelligence and self-organizing groups.
Network Theory: It focuses on how interactions between agents can be studied as a network. The relationships between the agents can be analyzed for its function to the overall system.
Systems Dynamics Theory: It examines how feedback loops, delay in response, and interconnectedness between systems can lead to cyclical patterns in behavior.
Ecological Systems Theory: It looks to understand how individuals interact with their environment, society, and family across different systems. The category stresses that changes are interconnected across scales.
Nonlinear Systems Theory: It explores how qualitative changes can result from nonlinear relationships between variables.
Soft Systems Theory: This theory is adaptable and open-minded, primarily used in business theory, anthropology, and sociology. It aims to identify the requirements and restrictions of the system.
Resilience Theory: It theorizes the adaptability of systems with factors to cope with disturbances and return to its original state.
Catastrophe Theory: It tries to explain how sudden and dramatic changes occur in a system. It mainly involves the study of the mathematical theory of exponents.
General Systems Theory: It examines problems in complex, organized systems by breaking them down into subsystem components. Its primary focus is on the relationships between the system components.
"Every system has causal boundaries, is influenced by its context..."
"...defined by its structure, function, and role..."
"...and expressed through its relations with other systems."
"A system is 'more than the sum of its parts' by expressing synergy or emergent behavior."
"Changing one component of a system may affect other components or the whole system."
"It may be possible to predict these changes in patterns of behavior."
"The growth and the degree of adaptation depend upon how well the system is engaged with its environment and other contexts influencing its organization."
"Some systems support other systems, maintaining the other system to prevent failure."
"The goals of systems theory are to model a system's dynamics, constraints, conditions, and relations..."
"General systems theory is about developing broadly applicable concepts and principles, as opposed to concepts and principles specific to one domain of knowledge."
"It distinguishes dynamic or active systems from static or passive systems."
"Active systems are activity structures or components that interact in behaviors and processes or interrelate through formal contextual boundary conditions (attractors)."
"Passive systems are structures and components that are being processed."
"For example, a program is passive when it is a disc file and active when it runs in memory."
"The field is related to systems thinking, machine logic, and systems engineering."
"The field is related to systems thinking, machine logic, and systems engineering."
"...and to elucidate principles (such as purpose, measure, methods, tools) that can be discerned and applied to other systems at every level of nesting..."
"...for achieving optimized equifinality."
"...and in a wide range of fields for achieving optimized equifinality."