Meta-systems have several definitions. In general, they link the concepts " system" and "

meta- Meta (from the Greek μετά, ''meta'', meaning "after" or "beyond") is a prefix meaning "more comprehensive" or "transcending". In modern nomenclature, ''meta''- can also serve as a prefix meaning self-referential, as a field of study or endea ...

". A "meta-system" is about other systems, such as describing, generalizing, modelling, or analyzing the other system(s). According to Turchin and Joslyn (1997), this "natural" systemic definition is not sufficient for their Theory of Meta-system Transition, it also is not equivalent to the definition of ''

system of systems System of systems is a collection of task-oriented or dedicated systems that pool their resources and capabilities together to create a new, more complex system which offers more functionality and performance than simply the sum of the constituent s ...

'' in Autopoietic Systems Theory.Reflexive Autopoietic Systems Theory
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In economics

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

, meta-systems are like what Bataille calls general economies as opposed to the restricted economies of systems.

In mathematics, biology and psychology

In mathematics,

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

, many variables have occurred within structures and systems that determined the results, discoveries, rates and value(s) of sets, systems, and developments within systems, structures, systems within structures and sets of structures. A

mathematical Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

-modelling rule system for a domain D is an example of a meta-system in mathematics and

science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

, for similar and

consistency In classical deductive logic, a consistent theory is one that does not lead to a logical contradiction. The lack of contradiction can be defined in either semantic or syntactic terms. The semantic definition states that a theory is consistent ...

of concrete or

frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

found in models within a domain. These are all modes or models; where commonalities are more consistent with consecutive scores or values within a ranged order and are good indicators for gauging probabilities, traits (psychology) or properties (biology).

In cultural studies and sociology

Meta-systems in cultural studies and

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

refer to contexts,

milieu The social environment, social context, sociocultural context or milieu refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops. It includes the culture that the individual was educate ...

, situations,

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s, environments and the biological process with the use of commonalities in behavioral traits and human developments found surrounding a

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

system which the system must interact with in order to remain viable. Meta-systems have different structures and also are complementary to other structures of such systems. Without this complementarity in the

values In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of something or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics in ethics), or to describe the significance of di ...

, bondings, or tact, the systems could not remain productive, viable or operational.

In cybernetics

The term "meta-system" (or "metasystem") in cybernetics is synonymous with

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includ ...

system or control system.

Stafford Beer Anthony Stafford Beer (25 September 1926 – 23 August 2002) was a British theorist, consultant and professor at the Manchester Business School. He is best known for his work in the fields of operational research and management cybernetics. ...

, who founded

management cybernetics Management cybernetics is concerned with the application of cybernetics to management and organizations. "Management cybernetics" was first introduced by Stafford Beer in the late 1950s and introduces the various mechanisms of self-regulation appli ...

with his

viable system model The viable system model (VSM) is a model of the organizational structure of any autonomous system capable of producing itself. A viable system is any system organised in such a way as to meet the demands of surviving in the changing environment. On ...

, speaks of metasystems that apply metalanguages which are able to find means of making decisions when necessary improvements cannot be made. Here metalanguage works in a larger context than the language it describes and has more

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

, namely the number of possible control states of a given system.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meta-System Systems theory Conceptual systems

In economics

In mathematics, biology and psychology

In cultural studies and sociology

In cybernetics

See also

References