BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

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MULTIDISCIPLINARITY 1)3)4)

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"A collective study by many specialized experts of a complex project or problem" (Ch. FRANÇOIS, 1986, p.114).

Ch. FRANÇOIS carefully distinguishes multidisciplinarity from interdisciplinarity, or transdisciplinarity.

He writes: "Multidisciplinarity reflects the ever growing need for collaboration among many disciplinary specialists for the management of complex systems. Unfortunately, most of the multidisciplinary meetings – especially those which must produce some critical decision on practical projects – are merely confuse and confusing caucuses. Long debates may lead only to deep and damaging misunderstandings, due to the lack of a common conceptual language and an integrated view of the system to be managed (ACKOFF's messes)" (Ibid).

Thus, while the multidisciplinary approach is obviously a practical necessity, it may at the same time be clearly insufficient and in dire need for a systemic transdisciplinary language.

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

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