ABSTRACT
The final part of the book examines further contemporary developments in systems thinking, largely beyond sociology. It includes an examination of the relationship between systems theory and literature, a discussion of the systems thought as relative to digital culture, a short introduction to one form of ecosystems thought with some salience (under the name of evolutionary cultural ecology) in Germany, but that has similarities to views of Fritjof Capra, and resonates with ideas of Donella Meadows, along with some thought in deep ecology, and ecological economics, as well as other general environmental thought focused on sustainability. It includes an examination of Prigogine’s influential view and an expansive overview of the development of systems theory as related to organizational and management theory that briefly introduces a few of the main present trends in these areas. The concluding excursus is a metalogue on Gregory Bateson and a call in the end to integrate the ideas of systems theory and cybernetics into one’s intellectual toolbox in such a manner that they fundamentally affect how we live our lives.
