FACETS OF SYSTEMS SCIENCE SECOND EDITION International Federation for Systems Research International Series on Systems Science and Engineering Series Editor: George J. Klir State University of New York at Binghamtom Editorial Board Gerrit Broekstra Ivan M. Havel Erasmus University. Rotterdam. Charles University. Prague. The Netherlands Czech Republic John L. Casti Manfred Peschel Santa Fe Institute. New Mexico Academy of Sciences. Berlin. Germany Brian Gaines Franz Pichler University of Calgary. Canada University of Linz. Austria Volume 9 CHAOTIC LOGIC: Language. Thought. and Reality from the Perspective of Complex Systems Science Ben Goertzel Volume 10 THE FOUNDATIONS OF FUZZY CONTROL Harold W. Lewis, III Volume 11 FROM COMPLEXITY TO CREATIVITY: Explorations in Evolutionary. Autopoietic. and Cognitive Dynamics Ben Goertzel Volume 12 GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY: A Mathematical Approach Yi Lin Volume 13 PRINCIPLES OF QUANTITATIVE LIVING SYSTEMS SCIENCE James R. Simms Volume 14 INTELLIGENT ROBOTIC SYSTEMS: Design. Planning. and Control Witold Jacak Volume 15 FACETS OF SYSTEMS SCIENCE: Second Edition George J. Klir IFSR was established "to stimulate all activities associated with the scientific study of systems and to coordinate such activities at intemationallevel." The aim of this series is to stimulate publication of high-quality monographs and textbooks on various topics of systems science and engineering. This series complements the Federation's other publications. A Continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring delivery of each new volume immediately upon publication. Volumes are billed only upon actual shipment. For further information please contact the publisher. Volumes \-6 were published by Pergamon Press. FACETS OF SYSTEMS SCIENCE SECOND EDITION George J. Klir State University of New York at Binghamton Binghamton, New York Springer Science+Business Media, LLC Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Oata Klir, George J ., 1932- Facets of systems science/George J . Klir.-2nd ed. p. cm. - (International Federation for Systems Research international series on systems science and engineering; v. 15) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4613-5501-4 ISBN 978-1-4615-1331-5 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-1331-5 1. System theory. I. Title. 11. IFSR international series on systems science and engineering; v. 15. Q295 .K554 2001 003-dc21 2001029880 ISBN 978-1-4613-5501-4 ©2001, 1991, Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers 2001 , 1991 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 2nd edition 2001, 1991 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 A C .I.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher Preface This book has a rather strange history. It began in spring 1989, thirteen years after our Systems Science Department at SUNY-Binghamton was established, when I was asked by a group of students in our doctoral program to have a meeting with them. The spokesman of the group, Cliff Joslyn, opened our meeting by stating its purpose. I can closely paraphrase what he said: "We called this meeting to discuss with you, as Chairman of the Department, a fundamental problem with our systems science curriculum. In general, we consider it a good curriculum: we learn a lot of concepts, principles, and methodological tools, mathematical, computational, heu­ ristic, which are fundamental to understanding and dealing with systems. And, yet, we learn virtually nothing about systems science itself. What is systems science? What are its historical roots? What are its aims? Where does it stand and where is it likely to go? These are pressing questions to us. After all, aren't we supposed to carry the systems science flag after we graduate from this program? We feel that a broad introductory course to systems science is urgently needed in the curriculum. Do you agree with this assessment?" The answer was obvious and, yet, not easy to give: "I agree, of course, but I do not see how the situation could be alleviated in the foreseeable future. Systems science is still in its forming stage and there is little agreement in the professional community of what it is or what it should be. There is also no textbook for such a course and, above all, who would teach itT' To my amazement, the question was not answered by words, but by a group of forefingers pointed, in a perfect unison, toward me. "Wishful thinking," was my immediate reaction. "Look," I continued, "for some ten years, when I was very active in the systems movement, I was asked countless number of times to deliver keynote addresses, after-dinner speeches, and the like regarding the systems move­ ment, its history, state of the art, or its future. I eventually got so tired of these activities that I started to view them as a waste of time, diverting me from serious research. What I am really saying is that these overview lectures are not my cup of tea anymore. And, now, you want me to give such lectures for the whole semester. Although your point is well taken and I will do my best to help you, you clearly have to find someone else to teach the course." The students did not give up. "Why not think it over and have another meeting with us," said one of them. "And, by the way, we will do our utmost to help you with the course in any way you would desire." v vi Preface There were, in fact, a few more meetings. Their outcome, to make the long story short, was most unexpected: I eventually agreed to teach the course, on an experimental basis, in fall 1989. After making this commitment, I tried to develop some enthusiasm for preparing the course, but all my efforts in this respect were in vain. This lack of enthusiasm continued until I actually started to teach the course. Then, to my surprise, my attitude toward the course changed and I actually began to enjoy preparing and teaching it. The main factor inducing this change, I suspect, was the students. I could feel their enthusiasm for the course and how grateful they were that it was offered. The course, which was entitled Introduction to Systems Science, was a graduate course. It was taken by 23 highly motivated and hardworking graduate students. Lectures in the course were supplemented by heavy reading assignments each week. During the semester, the students were required to read 46 carefully selected classic papers and two classic books on systems science, General Systems Theory by Ludwig von Bertalanffy andAn Introduction to Cybernetics by W. Ross Ashby. The purpose of these reading assignments was to provide the students with additional information on topics that were covered only briefly in the lectures. The only requirement in the course was to write a term paper that would overview, in a coherent and critical fashion, the material learned from the lectures and assigned readings. In particular, a detailed critical evaluation of each assigned reading was required. Information contained in these papers turned out to be very valuable. It gave me confidence that, in general, the course was well conceived, and, at the same time, it provided me with some guidance for improving it. One outcome of the course is this text, on which I began to work immediately after the course was completed. It has two parts. Part I, entitled "Systems Science: A Guided Tour," is based upon the class notes I prepared for the lectures; Part II, entitled "Classical Systems Literature," consists of reprints of significant papers that elaborate on some of the topics covered in Part I. The whole book, especially Part II, is heavily influenced by the feedback I received from the students. Some papers that were on the reading list of the course are not included here, while some others are. The primary purpose of this book is to help the reader to develop an adequate general impression of what systems science is, what its main historical roots are, what its relationship is with other areas of human affairs, what its current status is, and what its role in the future is likely to be. In addition, it helps the reader to identify sources for further study of various aspects of systems science. As suggested by the title, Facets of Systems Science, no attempt is made in the book to cover systems science in a comprehensive way. The presentation is not technical and the use of mathematics is minimized. The few mathematical concepts that are used in the book are introduced in the Appendix to Part I. That is, the book is virtually self-contained. The book is suitable as a text for a one-semester course similar to the one described earlier. The course should be offered as either a first-year graduate course Preface vii or an upper-division undergraduate course. Although such a course is essential for programs in systems science and related areas, it could be a valuable enrichment to other programs as well. In addition to its role as a text, the book is also suitable for self-study. For me, the book has another useful function. On numerous occasions, I was asked the question: "What is systems science?" Now, I can answer this laden question with ease: "If you are really interested in what it is, read Facets of Systems Science." Part I is written from a particular perspective. It reflects primarily my own views, as revealed more explicitly in a biographical paper, "Systems Profile: The Emergence of Systems Science," included in Part II.