Ludwig Von Bertalanffy
living forms being happen perpetous stream matter energy
“Living forms are not in being, they are happening, they are the expression of a perpetual stream of matter and energy which passes through the organism and at the same time constitutes it.”
― Ludwig Von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
living organism exchange components metabolism
“The living organism is maintained in a continuous exchange of components; metabolism a a basic characteristic of living systems. We have, as it were, a machine composed of fuel spending itself continually and yet maintaining itself. Such machines do not exist today.”
― Ludwig Von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
world organization biosphere reinforcing inter-dependencies
"We are seeking another basic outlook: the world as an organization. This would profoundly change categories of our thinking and influence our practical attitudes. We must envision the biosphere as a whole with mutually reinforcing or mutually destructive inter-dependencies."
― Ludwig Von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
people machine opportunity act
"People are not machines, but in all situations where they are given the opportunity, they will act like machines."
― Ludwig Von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
complexity process cell simple model linear equation
"Considering the inconceivable complexity of processes even in a simple cell, it is little short of a miracle that the simplest possible model - namely, a linear equation between two variables - actually applies in quite a general number of cases."
― Ludwig Von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
progress state undifferentiated wholeness parts
"Progress is only possible by passing from a state of undifferentiated wholeness to differentiation of parts."
― Ludwig Von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
organism sum parts processes ordered whole
"The characteristic of the organism is first that it is more than the sum of its parts and second that the single processes are ordered for the maintenance of the whole."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
life distinctiveness process order
"The characteristic of life does not lie in a distinctiveness of single life processes. [Lebensvorgänge], but rather in a certain order among all the processes."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
empirical rule systems increase differentiation organization
"It is an empirical rule that living, evolutionary, psychological, social, etc., systems tend toward increasing differentiation and organization."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
whole causal equilibrium process part teleological event
"What in the whole denotes a causal equilibrium process, appears for the part as a teleological event."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
energy form dissipate higher lower
"Higher, directed forms of energy (e. g., mechanical, electric, chemical) are dissipated, that is, progressively converted into the lowest form of energy, i. e., undirected heat movement of molecules; chemical systems tend toward equilibria with maximum entropy; machines wear out owing to friction; in communication channels, information can only be lost by conversion of messages into noise but not vice versa, and so forth."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
science specialization data complexity technique disciplines
"Modern science is characterized by its ever-increasing specialization, necessitated by the enormous amount of data, the complexity of techniques and of theoretical structures within every field. Thus science is split into innumerable disciplines continually generating new subdisciplines. In consequence, the physicist, the biologist, the psychologist and the social scientist are, so to speak, encapusulated in their private universes, and it is difficult to get word from one cocoon to the other."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
organism sum parts processes ordered whole
"The characteristic of the organism is first that it is more than the sum of its parts and second that the single processes are ordered for the maintenance of the whole."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
wholeness gestalt attribute life
"Wholeness [Ganzheit], Gestalt, is the primary attribute of life."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
sum behavior whole part relations subordinate system super-ordin
"You cannot sum up the behavior of the whole from the isolated parts, and you have to take into account the relations between the various subordinate systems which are super-ordinated to them in order to understand the behavior of the parts."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
life equilibrium disequilibria death decay organism
"Biologically, life is not maintenance or restoration of equilibrium but is essentially maintenance of disequilibria, as the doctrine of the organism as open system reveals. Reaching equilibrium means death and consequent decay. Psychologically, behaviour not only tends to release tensions but also builds up tensions; if this stops, the patient is a decaying mental corpse in the same way a living organism becomes a body in decay when tensions and forces keeping it from equilibrium have stopped."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
system defined elements interrelation
"A system can be defined as a set of elements standing in interrelations. Interrelation means that elements, p, stand in relations, R, so that the behavior of an element p in R is different from its behavior in another relation, R'. If the behaviors in R and R' are not different, there is no interaction, and the elements behave independently with respect to the relations R and R'."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
animal growth synthesis destruction anabolism catabolism
"Animal growth can be considered as a result of a counteraction of synthesis and destruction, of the anabolism and catabolism of the building materials of the body. There will be growth so long as building up prevails over breaking down."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)
science disciplines elements universe interrelations understandin
"Classical science in its diverse disciplines, be it chemistry, biology, psychology or the social sciences, tried to isolate the elements of the observed universe - chemical compounds and enzymes, cells, elementary sensations, freely competing individuals, what not — expecting that, by putting them together again, conceptually or experimentally, the whole or system - cell, mind, society - would result and be intelligible. Now we have learned that for an understanding not only the elements but their interrelations as well are required."
— Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972)