Chapter 42: Family Therapy:

The systemic framework for family therapy has its roots in general systems theory; a theory introduced in 1945 by biologist, Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1968). According to Bertalanffy, general systems theory is a basic reorientation in scientific thinking challenging the application of principles of natural science models to all living systems. He explained that traditional closed system models based on classical science principles, such as reductionism and mechanism, are inapplicable to living systems. Bertalanffy postulated that living systems are open to and interact with other components and the environment, and he emphasized the nonlin-earity of those interactions, described man as an active organism, and thereby challenged “the model of man as a robot” (p. 205) depending on a stimulus-response model to explain human behavior.