In Their Own Words

Professional Activities: 

Ludwig von Bertalanffy was a multifaceted polymath whose professional life bridged biology, philosophy, and social science. As an organismic biologist, he challenged the era’s prevailing views by rejecting both “mechanistic” reductionism and “vitalism.” Instead, he proposed that organisms be understood as integrated wholes, a perspective that led to the development of the von Bertalanffy Growth Function, which remains a staple in biological modeling today.

Beyond theoretical work, Bertalanffy was an influential academic and institutional leader. He held prestigious professorships at the Universities of Vienna, Ottawa, Montreal and Alberta, as well as SUNY Buffalo. In 1954, he co-founded the Society for General Systems Research, cementing systems science as a formal discipline. His diverse research even extended to oncology at Mount Sinai Hospital, where he developed cytological techniques for cancer diagnosis.

In his later years, Bertalanffy transitioned into a philosopher and social critic. He vocally opposed the “robot model” of humanity found in behaviorist psychology, arguing that humans are active, symbol-creating beings. By integrating these various roles, Bertalanffy established a wholistic scientific paradigm that continues to influence contemporary thought across multiple disciplines.

Contributions to Systems Thinking:

Ludwig von Bertalanffy rejected both “mechanism” and “vitalism,” arguing that neither reductionism nor mystical forces could adequately explain life. Instead, he developed “General System Theory” rooted in his “organismic biology” of the 1920s and presented at a 1937 University of Chicago philosophy seminar that became cited as the birth of systems science.  Although he preferred the term “Science of Wholeness” that he coined in 1945 he eventually settled on General System Theory as his work gained international traction after moving to North America in the late 1940s.

“Biological systems are stratified with a hierarchy of levels of organization from living molecules to multicellular individuals and supraindividual aggregates. The whole of nature is a tremendous architecture in which subordinate systems are united at successive levels into ever higher and larger systems.”

Bertalanffy’s core premise was that nature is a “tremendous architecture” of stratified levels, ranging from molecules to complex social aggregates. He proposed that laws governing open systems, which exchange matter and energy with their environment, apply universally across physical, biological, and sociological domains. By focusing on principles such as feedback, equilibrium, and self-organization, he sought to unify fragmented scientific disciplines into a cohesive whole. His life’s work culminated in the 1968 publication of General System Theory: Foundations, Development, Applications, cementing a wholistic paradigm that remains influential today.