ing or reliant organisms. These reliant organisms then form groupings, which implies a hierarchical "systems of systems." view of the world.
It is generally agreed by systems theorists that general systems theory, as described and postulated by Campbell, provides a viable model for looking at ourselves, at our environments, at the systems that affect us, and the systems to which we belong (Bertalanffy, 1972, 1975; Buckley, 1967; Etzioni, 1975; Hofstadter, 1989). It is also agreed that General Systems Theory (GST) enables the observing of various types of systems and studying their behavior, in an attempt to recognize characteristics common to all systems (Kauffman, 1993; Kuhn, 1974).
The act of studying and analyzing systems theories develops an awareness of the set of concepts that are common to all systems, and it is then possible to observe certain relationships from which we can construct what are known as General Systems Principles (Campbell, 1963; 1981; Laszlo, 1996; Lillienfeld, 1978, 1988).
In discussing systems theory, there are certain accepted definitional limitations that apply. Those are:
A. Systems consist of interrelated components, which imply a relationship between parts and the whole, and this relationship is categorized into subsystems and suprasystems (Bertalanffy, 1972).
B. Systems are normally arranged in a hierarchy with strong relationships between sub and supra systems (Etzioni, 1975).
C. Parts of a system do not equal the whole, or the sum is greater than the total of its parts (Kuhn, 1974).
D. System boundaries are artificial since all systems reside in an environment of other larger systems (Kuhn, 1974).
E. Systems can be open or closed - influenced by environment or environments Bopen -- or not influenced by environment -- closed (Bertalanffy, 1972).
F. Each and every system has inputs, processes, outputs, and feedback loops (Bertalanffy, 1975.
G. For...