Mini General System Theory

A collection of from-scratch, zero-dependency C implementations of General System Theory (GST) — the foundational frameworks of Bertalanffy, Boulding, Miller, Simon, and others that treat systems as organized wholes rather than mere collections of parts. Each module translates classic GST formalisms into runnable C code, bridging abstract systems philosophy with computational practice.

Sub-Modules

Sub-Module	Topics	Key Courses
mini-bertalanffy-open-system	Open system thermodynamics, entropy exchange (dS = dᵢS + dₑS), dissipative structures, Prigogine irreversible processes, Bertalanffy growth equation	MIT 15.871, MIT 6.241J
mini-boulding-hierarchy-levels	Boulding's 9-level system hierarchy (framework→transcendental), holarchy, emergence quantification, inter-level transition analysis, complexity metrics	MIT 15.871, MIT IDS.110
mini-equifinality-multifinality	Equifinality (different starts → same finish), multifinality (same start → different finishes), Waddington epigenetic landscapes, path convergence and divergence analysis	MIT 15.871
mini-hierarchical-organization	Simon's near-decomposability, Koestler's holons (Janus-faced wholes/parts), triadic hierarchy, Pattee hierarchy theory, organizational complexity	MIT IDS.110, MIT 16.842
mini-isomorphism-interdisciplinarity	Cross-domain structural isomorphism, system archetype detection, interdisciplinarity metrics, pattern mapping across disciplines	MIT 15.871
mini-living-systems-miller	Miller's 20 critical subsystems (matter-energy + information processing), 8 levels (cell→supranational), subsystem taxonomy, cross-level organizational diagnosis	MIT 15.871
mini-science-of-wholes	Weak/strong emergence (Broad), causal emergence (Hoel), holism metrics, information-theoretic synergy (I_synergy = H(whole) − ΣH(part)), Rosen's anticipatory systems	MIT 15.871, Santa Fe Institute
mini-system-boundary-environment	Boundary permeability, Maturana-Varela structural coupling, von Uexküll's Umwelt, autopoiesis, environment perturbation models, selective interface theory	MIT 6.241J, MIT 15.871

Design Philosophy

• Zero external dependencies — pure C (C99/C11), only libc and libm
• Self-contained modules — each directory has its own Makefile, include/, src/, examples/, demos/, tests/
• Theory-to-code mapping — every module includes docs/ with alignment to original GST source works
• From-scratch implementations — no existing libraries; each concept is built from mathematical and systems-theoretic primitives

Building

Each module is standalone. Navigate to a module directory and run:

cd mini-bertalanffy-open-system
make all    # build everything
make test   # run tests

Requires GCC and GNU Make.

Project Structure

mini-general-system-theory/
├── mini-bertalanffy-open-system/   # Open systems, thermodynamics, dissipative structures
├── mini-boulding-hierarchy-levels/ # Boulding's 9-level system hierarchy, emergence
├── mini-equifinality-multifinality/# Equifinality, multifinality, path convergence
├── mini-hierarchical-organization/ # Near-decomposability, holons, triadic hierarchy
├── mini-isomorphism-interdisciplinarity/ # Cross-domain isomorphism, archetypes
├── mini-living-systems-miller/     # Miller's 20 critical subsystems, 8 levels of life
├── mini-science-of-wholes/         # Emergence, holism, synergy, anticipatory systems
└── mini-system-boundary-environment/ # Boundaries, structural coupling, autopoiesis

License

MIT