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Social ecology and living systems theory
Author(s) -
Bailey Kenneth D.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
systems research and behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 1092-7026
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1743(1998090)15:5<421::aid-sres269>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - process (computing) , ecology , systems ecology , living systems , social ecology , social system , supporter , ecological systems theory , adaptation (eye) , industrial ecology , sociology , environmental resource management , computer science , applied ecology , economics , psychology , geography , social science , biology , biodiversity , archaeology , neuroscience , sustainability , market economy , operating system
Social ecology studies the manner in which human societies adapt to their environment. This includes not only the impact of the society on the environment, but also the impact of the environment on the society. In fact, as societies adapt to their environment, they alter it, and this altered environment subsequently impacts back upon the society. Living Systems Theory (LST) discusses twenty critical subsystems which process either matter/energy or information in living systems, including social systems. This paper first presents a general model of social ecology. It then concentrates upon the ten subsystems of LST which process matter/energy, and analyzes how knowledge of these subsystem processes can be applied to our model of social ecology. These ten subsystems—the reproducer, boundary, ingestor, distributor, converter, producer, matter–energy storage, extruder, motor, and supporter—are all shown to occupy key roles in ecological adaptation, and the role of each is explicated. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.