Affiliations: Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, U.S.A.
Abstract: Development is a core concept of the systems view of the world. In contrast to the mechanistic and organismic views which are concerned with efficiency and growth, respectively, the systems view is basically concerned with development. A critical review of the major traditional views of development suggests that they are generally characterized by problems of: (1) ethnocentrism, (2) unidimensionality, and, on the whole, (3) a deterministic perspective. Misconceptions about the nature of development and the properties usually identified with it call for at least a clarification of the systems view of development and its relationship to other views. A typology of the major theoretical traditions is developed based on their underlying assumptions (explicit or implicit) with regard to the singularity or plurality attributed to function, structure and process. Finally, the telosystemic concept of development is discussed.
