How do separate entities become parts of an organised system, and how do systems persist, change or break apart?
My latest General Systems Theory paper, Causal Assembly Theory: Assembly and Disassembly as Causal Processes, examines the physical causal processes behind these changes. It builds upon my earlier paper, Foundational Causality.
The paper takes a substantial step towards grounding General Systems Theory more firmly in contemporary science. It connects familiar systems concepts with identifiable physical mechanisms, drawing on established accounts of physical interactions, atomic and molecular binding, energy transfers and biological processes.
Its scope extends from quantum binding to mechanical and social organisation. The mechanisms differ across these domains, but common questions can be investigated: how was the organisation established, what maintains it, what capabilities does it support, and what would modify or disrupt it?
The paper explains how components can enter, leave, be replaced or participate temporarily while sufficient organisation remains for a system to continue. It examines how assemblies become components of larger assemblies, and how maintained relationships can sustain system-level capabilities that individual components do not possess separately.
A further theme is latent causal potential: capabilities that remain inactive until suitable inputs or conditions arise. A system can retain its usual outputs while losing capabilities needed in unfamiliar circumstances. Conversely, changed inputs can activate processes whose outputs bring further capabilities into operation, supporting, transforming or undermining the organisation.
Together, these explanations help clarify how emergence, systemness, boundaries, persistence, adaptation and breakdown are related. Established scientific examples support particular mechanisms; broader proposals about their combination and application remain hypotheses requiring investigation and testing.
The paper is accompanied by fifteen free course modules (GST 92–106), featuring formal descriptions, plain-English explanations, diagrams, examples and practical exercises. A continuing town-and-flooding example connects the modules, culminating in an integrated causal investigation.
Open-access paper and related work: https://rational-understanding.com/efgst/
Open-access course materials: https://rational-understanding.com/gst-course/
Supported learning is also available through Google Classroom via the ISSS Student SIG. Those in full-time or part-time education are especially encouraged to join, with opportunities for guidance, discussion and participation in an international systems community.
To join the ISSS: https://isss.org
