The root of the word system comes from the Greek, meaning organised whole. There are many and diverse types of systems: from a star system in the universe to the circulatory system in the body; closed systems of computer programming and the open systems of living organisms.

Ludwig von Bertalanffy was born near Vienna in 1901. While still at University he had already wide interests which went beyond his main areas of biology and philosophy of science, to cover history and the humanities. Bertalanfffy’s reaction against the then current reductionist thinking resulted in his wish to create some sort of unifying umbrella theory that would cover philosophy, psychology, physics, and chemistry.

He developed the General Systems Theory, believing that one general organising theory could unite these different areas. He wanted this way of looking at systems to extend to cover societies and cultures. He considered that all open systems, however different had similar underlying organising principles, and a unifying theory would result in a richer understanding in these diverse areas.

Thomas Kuhn explores the emergence of new theories, which he calls scientific revolutions or paradigm shifts, in his book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1970). He talks of these huge shifts allowing a new way of looking at the world that are triggered by a new theory that is incompatible with the old.  The new draws a body of followers who will work with a new model and the new rules created that will govern this new way of practicing science. This is why ’…a scientist’s work is qualitatively transformed as well as quantitatively enriched….’ (1970 p. 7).

Quite simply this means that a new framework, a new way of framing the world, allows a wider and possibly richer view of ourselves in that world.