The Systems View of the World: A Holistic Vision for Our Time (Advances in Systems Theory, Complexity, and the Human Sciences)

Very good book. Highly recommended for ANY spiritual explorer.

This is another great book by Ervin Laszlo which provides a great overview of the world and life in an easy to read format. This all points towards a new vision for the future we sorely need in this present age.

This was more about the philosophy of systems theory than how systems work and how to work with them, which is what I was looking for. So I skimmed it and found it thoughtful but far more abstract than what I was looking for (I guess I've done my philosophy for now!). And in many ways it was really about a philosophy of life, not just systems, and how we need to evolve our way of approaching life. But I already knew that and what he added was not all that new at least to me. It was helpful to understand that looking at life from a systems point of view is part of the evolution in our thinking that is going on and supports the new way of thinking holistically about ecology, politics, economics, religion, etc., etc. Of course this way of thinking holistically is simply rediscovering the interconnectedness of all beings and things that the Buddha taught and that is embedded in the ancient wisdoms of many native people who live close enough to life and nature to see this daily. We have come so far we need to rediscover it and relearn how to live in this way. For this perspective on systems theory I found the book worthwhile.

I bought this early book by Ervin Laszlo since it preceeds his later writing about the Akashic Field. I have done system science for many decades (including the system design of the Canadarm on the US Space Shuttle) and yet learned many new concepts. No wonder Ervin was compelled to follow on and, thanks to that, identified the concept of a Field of Consclousness that is the source of all that is. He may have written later books that would compete for the honour but I think that this book should be the one used to introduce scientists of all types to what system science really means. With this well under one's belt we would all do better science.

interesting book, got a copy for my son as well. kind of basic knowledge -- everyone should glance through it.

Laszlo presents sytems thinking theory in a clear style. He balances the science and abstract thinking with a easliy understood writing style

I enjoyed reading this book which elaborates on systems theory and natural systems. I only wish the politics could be left out. I am interested in the science not the liberal slant characteristic of academia.

I first learned about Systems Thinking during a graduate program in education, although as a former pre-Socratic philosophy student the ideas are not new or overly challenging--they seem quite natural. In this particular work Laszlo focuses on the actual theory and how it can be applied, starting on the cellular level and ending up on the human relationship level. As a non-physicist I appreciated his way of using real-life examples to explain the theory. Another little gem, at the end, is Laszlo's discussion on the age old question of what separates humans from other animals. I found his conclusion much more plausible than Chomsky's! I won't tell you what it is because I don't want to give it away. Let's just say it's been something that's been bugging me for years. The guy is a deep thinker, a hard worker, and I believe he has been studying this field since the 50's. What more could you ask for?I went ahead and read his most recent (I think) book Macroshifts. Very different from this one, also very interesting.