systems thinking, n.Definitions

Systems thinking is the understanding of a phenomenon in the context of a large whole.

Systems thinking is the idea that increases in understanding are obtainable by expanding the systems to be understood, not by reducing them to their elements. Understanding proceeds from the whole to its parts, not from the parts to the whole as knowledge does.

Systems thinking is of such importance that it might be considered the biggest bite out of the tree of knowledge in two thousand years.

Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing 'patterns of change' rather than static 'snapshots.'.