von Bertalanffy centenary

Citation

Andrew, A.M. (2001), "von Bertalanffy centenary", Kybernetes, Vol. 30 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/k.2001.06730aaf.001

von Bertalanffy centenary

von Bertalanffy centenary

Keywords: Cybernetics

Abstract Announces preparations for the commemoration of Karl Ludwig Bertalanffy in his centenary year.

The year 2001 will see the centenary of the birth of Karl Ludwig Bertalanffy, generally recognised as the founding father of general systems theory, who was born in Vienna and lived from 19 September 1901 to 12 June 1972. An e-mail message, dated 10 August 2000, appears in the CYBCOM list (archived at http://hermes.circ.gwu.edu/archives/cybcom.html) and announces a preliminary meeting to be held in the Technical University of Vienna on 19 September 2000. The meeting is under the auspices of the American Society for Cybernetics and its purpose is to consider how best to commemorate the work of von Bertalanffy in the year prior to his centenary.

Suggestions can be sent to the e-mail address elohimjl~mail.zserv.tuwien.ac.at. There is also a Web site at http://bertalanffy.iguw.tuwien.ac.at/. The book, General Systems Theory (von Bertalanffy, 1968), is accepted as ranking with Wiener's (1948) Cybernetics and Ashby's (1952) Design for a Brain as indicating the new trends in thinking that gave rise to cybernetics and general systems theory. Other important contributions, from as early as 1920, are listed in the Web site.

Alex M. AndrewEarley, Reading

References

Ashby, W.R. (1952), Design for a Brain, Chapman & Hall, London.von Bertalanffy, L. (1968), General Systems Theory, Brazilier, New York, NY.Wiener, N. (1948), Cybernetics, Wiley, New York, NY.