ABSTRACT
Take a solvable ‘system’ of n linear equations with n unknowns. By modifying any value of any ‘one’ of the coefficients, the value of all the unknown quantities will be affected. By excluding one of the unknowns the system will become unsolvable. By adding one unknown quantity, the system will have an endless number of solutions. Therefore, the set of equations makes up a system in the sense that any modification of one of the elements affects all the others. Bertalanffy writes: ‘a system is a set of interdepending elements, i.e. linked together by correlations such as if one is altered, so are the others and the whole set is then changed.’ This definition is similar to that of Condillac: ‘a hierarchy where all the different parts are mutually related.’
