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In this essay, a new framework for viewing the philosophy, principles and practice of systems science is proposed for furthering research and practice into transdisciplinary forms of intervention. This new framework reveals the effect of the interactions between systems principles and system structure in revealing complex systems behavior, demonstrates why such methodologies are classed as being systemic, and how these systemic methodologies can be used to explore, design and manage new transdisciplinary practice. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to discuss the hierarchy of system complexity that Kenneth E. Boulding proposed in the article General Systems Thinking—The Skeleton of Science, originally published in Management Science, 2, (1956, pp. 197–208) and to explore the implications of the Skeleton for systems theory and practice as it currently stands. The nine‐level Skeleton of Science is presented and discussed with reference to four perceived underlying frameworks within the Skeleton. The implications of the Skeleton and suggested future directions for further research are also presented. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

AbstractIn a life‐long partnership with his wife Jessie, James Grier Miller contributed substantially to the development of behavioural science and to the integration of disciplines through general systems theory, remaining actively engaged in these areas throughout his working life. From his early work on the human brain in the 1940s, Miller worked for over 60 years within influential circles to foster a wide range of new endeavours. In 1949, as Chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Chicago, he founded the new field of behavioural science, devoted to the theoretical integration of the biological and social sciences, through the establishment of the influential Committee on Behavioral Science. In 1955, he got funding from the State of Michigan to set up the Mental Health Research Institute at the University of Michigan; and in 1967, he became President of the University Louisville where he established a Systems Science Institute. His comprehensive integration of the sciences, in Living Systems (1978), remains core to the study of Living Systems and many other fields of research and practice within the systems community. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.