Systems Theory and Biology­ View of a Theoretician *

There exists a considerable diversity of opinion on what constitutes the systems approach to biology. On one side of the spectrum the systems approach is considered to be the application of techniques and instruments for measurements and signal analysis (so-called bio-instrumentation); further down the line is bio-engineering concerned with the application of the “engineering principles” in the study of the biological problems. On the other side of the spectrum, the systems approach is considered to be a search for some general biological laws which govern the behavior and evolution of living matter in a way analogous to the relation of the physical laws and non-living matter. (Often the latter viewpoint is presented as part of a scientific philosophy1,2.)

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