Publication Details

Abstract

The paper is an endeavour to set up an intuitive outline of a concept of the comprehension of a system which would fulfil the requirements of universality, a concept which could serve as a methodological basis for the research of the system, and which simultaneously would adequately integrate the system into other types of wholes. In his explanation, the author starts out from the general concept of the part and the whole; gaing further, however, there is partial concretization. A concept of characteristics of the whole is being introduced, these characteristics being the smallest differences to be found between two and more wholes. Four types of charakteristics are distinguished: qualities (properties), relations, data referring to space, and data referring to time. Their intuitive elucidation is given by means of the concept „movement“ which is understood as undefined. The structure of the whole is understood as an arrangement of all the characteristica of the parts of this whole. Three types of arrangement (and hence three types of structure) are distinguished: „good“, „mediocre“, „bad“. An arrangement considered as „good“ is the one which is the least probable for the respective multiple of charakteristica, while the “bad“ arrangement is the one which is the most probable for the given multiple. The different types of structures are called „uniform“, „perturbed“ and „not-uniform“. According to the structure, the wholes are then divided into systems (having uniform structure), „perturbates“ (their structure being perturbed), and „conglomerates“ (with a non-uniform structure). The entire concept is explained intuitively1 in its further development it requires precision and formalization.