General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications.

Abstract

It is often disconcerting to learn that a discovery that one has made has been around a long time, and thus is no discovery at all; but this should not deter one from sharing his good fortune. Ludwig von Bertalanffy has been writing about a general systems theory since at least 1945 but it did not become a component of psychiatric study until introduced by Dr. William Gray in 1965 at an APA panel. It has not, however, managed to sustain much over-all enthusiasm in psychiatry except for a small group of investigators. The present volume by Bertalanffy, as its title suggests, covers the foundations, the development, and the applications of this theory. This reviewer can only suggest and urge that every psychiatrist read it. Once that has been done, I would next urge you to read it again. The book consists of ten chapters