ABSTRACT
History of science shows that progress does not consist in a mere gathering of facts, but largely depends on the establishment of theoretical constructs. Idealizations never completely realized in nature, such as the conceptions of an ideal gas or an absolutely rigid body and constructs such as the structural formulae in chemistry or the planetary model of the atom, form the basis of physical theory. History of science shows that constructs of the formal type are highly useful, especially in the earlier stages of scientific development. The basic characteristic encountered in biological as well as in psychological phenomena, considered from both the behavioristic and introspective standpoints, is the order and pattern of events. To explain order, there are two fundamental possibilities. The first is explanation in terms of structural arrangements; the second is explanation in terms of dynamic interaction of processes. In the discovery of the systems laws, the organismic conception sees the essential and specific object of biology.
