Compare and Contrast General Systems Theories - Research Paper Example

The description of a system as a set of interacting units that establish relationships among themselves is the basic unifying factor in the general systems theories. Various theorists have come up with systems theories, prominent among them: Murray Bowen with the family system theory, Ervin Laszlo with his natural systems theory and James Grier Miller with his general living systems theory (Skyttner, 2005). The similarities observed in these three theories are evident, and the contrasting figures can be drawn across the general theories whose bases are of dire importance to sociologists, therapists and scholars of human behaviors.

The contrasting figures lie in the specifications and the discussions presented in the three theories depending on the argument and concepts presented by each developer. Millers living systems theory explains how living things work, develop, change and ensure maintenance. The concepts of living things being open and able to interact with the environment forms the basis of Miller’s argument which he says is through information and exchanges of energy. He points out that living beings are simple or complex in structure but despite this they depend on each other for survival.

He presents twenty subsystems that he calls processes that living beings depend on to ensure continuity of generations and for survival some of which deal with material and energy for metabolism in the system. He claims that life is a process, and life ends when the processing of information, material and energy comes to an end. Miller claims that living systems form eight levels of complexities from the simplest which is the cell to the largest and most organized. The interaction of the components of the system creates a whole new emergence of characteristics of the system.

The eight levels include cells, organs, organisms, groups, organizations, communities, societies, and supranational systems, each of which contains twenty subsystems which process matter- energy or information for use within the system (Bertalanffy, 2003). He argues that the first two process matter-energy and information, the next eight process only matter- energy, and the last term processes information only. The aspect of living beings being able to interact with their environment and with each other is in theory to emphasize that the components of the system extend to the hierarchy of the levels.

For instance, the cells and organs functionality depends on the functioning of the whole organism, and the organism depends on the ability of the cells and organs to operate properly (Skyttner, 2001). The natural systems theory by Ervin Laszlo encompasses organized entities that have various divisions each of which cannot exist on their own. He argues that systems are wholes, and in order to understand their properties, they must be viewed in the wholesome nature. The natural systems by Laszlo share four similar properties that are among the social, biological and physical entities of a system.

He says that all natural systems are wholes, maintaining themselves in a changing environment and create themselves in reaction to self- creativity in different systems. Therefore, in order to understand nature, we need to first have self-understanding and bring forward examples of origins, culture life and matter. He examines the concept of equilibrium and how individuals try to maintain balance in their daily life activities and brings out an aspect of biological evolution. Laszlo claims that genome,