Modern Theories of Development: An introduction to theoretical biology

by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy

2014 Reprint of Original 1962 American Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. This important introduction to theoretical biology is a classic work in its field. Already in the 1930's Bertalanffy formulated the organismic system theory that later became the kernel of the GST (General Systems Theory]. GST is an interdisciplinary practice that describes systems with interacting components, applicable to biology, cybernetics, and other fields. Bertalanffy proposed that the classical laws of thermodynamics applied to closed systems, but not necessarily to "open systems," such as living things. His mathematical model of an organism's growth over time is still in use today.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1933

About the author

Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy (September 19, 1901, Atzgersdorf near Vienna – June 12, 1972, Buffalo, New York) was an Austrian-born biologist known as one of the founders of general systems theory (GST). GST is an interdisciplinary practice that describes systems with interacting components, applicable to biology, cybernetics, and other fields. Bertalanffy proposed that the classical laws of thermodynamics applied to closed systems, but not necessarily to "open systems," such as living things. His mathematical model of an organism's growth over time, published in 1934, is still in use today.
Von Bertalanffy grew up in Austria and subsequently worked in Vienna, London, Canada and the USA.