James Grier Miller (19167 November 2002,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

) was an American

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual cell, a multicellular organism, or a community of interacting populations. They usually specialize ...

, a pioneer of systems science and

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some ...

, who originated the modern use of the term "

behavioral science Behavioral sciences explore the cognitive processes within organisms and the behavioral interactions between organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behavior through naturalistic o ...

", founded and directed the multi-disciplinary Mental Health Research Institute at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, G.A. Swanson
"James Grier Miller (1916-)"
on ISSS.org. Last modified: 2007/06/10. Accessed 3 November 2008. and originated the

living systems theory Living systems are open self-organizing life forms that interact with their environment. These systems are maintained by flows of information, energy and matter. In the last few decades, some scientists have proposed that a general living sys ...

Biography

Miller received his A.B. summa cum laude in 1937, an A.M. in

psychology Psychology is the science, scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immens ...

in 1938, an M.D. cum laude in 1942, and a Ph.D. in psychology in 1943, all from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

where he was also a junior fellow of the

Society of Fellows The Society of Fellows is a group of scholars selected at the beginnings of their careers by Harvard University for their potential to advance academic wisdom, upon whom are bestowed distinctive opportunities to foster their individual and intel ...

. Following military service in World War II, he served as Chief of the newly formed Clinical Psychology section of the

Veteran's Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...

central office in Washington.Bernard W. Agranoff (2003)
"James Grier Miller, 1916–2002 : Obituary"
In: ''Neuropsychopharmacology (2003) 28, 2221–2222. Having served on the faculty at Harvard, in 1948 he accepted the position of Chairman of the Department of Psychology at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

, which he held until 1955. From 1955 to 1967 he directed the multi-disciplinary Mental Health Research Institute at the University of Michigan, leaving in 1967 to pursue an administrative career, first as provost of the newly founded

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in operation since 1923 ...

, and then in 1973 as president of the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one ...

, from which position he retired in 1980. He was a fellow or member of numerous scientific and professional societies. He served as president of the

Society for General Systems Research The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) is a worldwide organization for systems sciences. The overall purpose of the ISSS is: :"to promote the development of conceptual frameworks based on general system theory, as well as their ...

(SGSR) succeeding

Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard C ...

in 1973. He was a founder and the first head of EDUCOM (the Interuniversity Communications Council). He also had been a fellow of the

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) is an independent international research institute located in Laxenburg, near Vienna, in Austria. Through its research programs and initiatives, the institute conducts policy-o ...

(IIASA) in Vienna. For more than 30 years Miller was editor of the Journal ''

Behavioral Science Behavioral sciences explore the cognitive processes within organisms and the behavioral interactions between organisms in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human and animal behavior through naturalistic o ...

''.

Publications

Miller has written or co-authored nine books and published more than 100 scientific and scholarly articles. * 1942. ''Unconsciousness''. New York: John Wiley & Sons. * 1948. ''OSS Assessment Staff. Assessment of men''. New York: Rinehart & Company. * 1950. ''Experiments in social process''. (Ed.) New York: Mc Graw-Hill. * 1959. ''The pharmacology and clinical usefulness of carisoprodol''. (Ed.) Detroit: Wayne State University Press. * 1960. ''Drugs and behavior''. (Ed.) with L. Uhr. New York: John Wiley & Sons. * 1978. ''Living systems''. New York: Mc Graw-Hill. * 1978
Living Systems. The Basic Concepts
* 1989. ''Measurement and interpretations in accounting: a living systems theory approach''. With G.A. Swanson, New York: Quorum Books.

Biography

See also

Publications

References

Further reading