The SCA presents: The Register of GST Candidates

The SCA Information Card, for this Content:

The Organization :

Name:

Systems Community Alliance

Description:“…an idea to bring together individuals and organisations (the Community), who are interested in working together (in a semi-formal Alliance), to help develop capabilities based on a Systems view of reality”
Website:https://systemscommunityalliance.net/
#ORG:SCA

The Register:

Register (#REG)

Last Update
The GSTm Candidates list (GSTmC)List of GST (meta-theories) Candidates

1. LIST CONTENT: The GST Candidate list (the List) currently lists about 50 Candidates (as at March 2025). The List contains ‘theories’, from all areas of human thought and endeavour, which are trying to answer the fundamental questions, of: what is out there? (what is reality); who are we?; and what we going to do?

2. LIST PREMISES: Some basic premise of the GST Candidate list, are:
a) Survive And Thrive: The better we can understand such fundamental questions, in point (1), the better the chance that humanity (sapience) will have, to survive and thrive.
b) A Systems-Theoretic Approach: The best approach, found so far, to understanding these fundamental questions, is the Systems Approach (systems; systems thinking; a Systems-Theoretic Universe etc.)

3. GST MICRO-THEORIES: These List Candidates can be considered as GST-micro-theories. i.e. they are not a whole GST, but have some aspect of ‘truth’ about ‘a whole GST’.

4. GST LIST LABEL: The ‘GST Candidate list’, is the overall label, given to the list of these GST-micro-theories. Please note: It is usefully thought of as ‘just a label’, which reflects historic origins and context of the creation of the List. The true identity of the List is its content, premises and use. Please accept it as a rallying concept for the List, rather than a devisive aspect. The label can be changed.

5. NON-PARTISAN SYSTEMS META-FRAMEWORK: The term ‘GST’ (General Systems Theory), in ‘the GST Candidates list’ does not seek to place GST over other major systems approaches (the Candidates), especially other current major systems approaches, such as Cybernetics; Complexity Sciences; the many other GST-micro theory approaches; Philosophy; Science etc.
One of the aims of ‘the GST Candidate list’ is to bring all of these Candidates in to a non-partisan, harmonious and useful systems meta-framework.

6. UNIFYING SYSTEMS META-FRAMEWORK: The ‘GST Candidates list’, could have been labelled as ‘Systems Theory Candidates list’. However, ‘Systems Theory’ does not correctly represent the intent to create a unifying and harmonising meta-framework. This meta-framework, is emphasized by using the term ‘*General Systems Theory* Candidate list’, but note point (5) above stating that GST is not being placed ‘above’ other Systems approaches.

7. HISTORICAL UNIFICATION: ‘General Systems Theory’, as labelled by the Modern Systems movement, from the 20th Century onwards, represents a historical unifying point, for current systems thinking. It is hoped that a modernised GST label, with a re-versioned GST, will help develop that unifying momentum. (see Appendix A: ‘General Systems Theory – Framed in Three System (Big) History Arcs’).

8. RE-VERSIONED GST: GST is the best representative label so far, but it needs to be brought up-to-date, ‘re-framed’, or ‘re-versioned’, to include the latest systemic understanding.

9. CONCEPTUAL GSTs: The GST Candidate list, works at the Conceptual level.
See this vignette, on ‘General Systems Theory – [CONCEPTUAL – LOGICAL – PHYSICAL] GSTs’
30-Mar-2025

The Data

Basic help: SCA provides data in Excel Sheets. There may be multiple sheets in a Workbook (click on the tabs along the bottom). You can download the sheet (Excel) for offline viewing, or you can view the sheet online using the window below, which can also be expanded to full screen (in a separate window). See, and hover over, the icons in the bottom right hand corner. Further help is available here: Help and FAQ on SCA Spreadsheets.

  1. Tips for using SCA Spreadsheets (Excel) (opens a new window)

Uses of this data:

A word cloud:

Link to interactive version:

https://wordart.com/3glb25865z5l/gst-(micro-theories)%20candidates%20list%20(2%20apr%202025)