Cybernetics, systems, and medical thinking — scientific theories, fuzziness and the state of health

60 years ago, 1948, Norbert Wiener developed a meta-theory of feedback and governance operating across any simple or complex system: Cybernetics or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. Already 80 years ago, Ludwig von Bertalanffy began his research on a “General Systems Theory” and after the II. World War the both scientific meta-theories merged to a “trans-scientific” view. More than 40 years ago Lotfi Zadeh founded the theory of Fuzzy Sets and Systems based on his works in information theory and continuing Wieners research in prediction theory - both are parts of cybernetics. In the 70s, Mario Bunge published his Iatrophilosophy as system theoretical approach in philosophy of medicine and in the 80s Kazem Sadegh-Zadeh opened the door to use fuzzy system's concepts in this area and to define a patient's state of health as a linguistic variable.