The above insights have led to the development of an orientation in the systems sciences that may provide a solid bridge between systems theory and studies of perception. In this context it is useful to recall Rapoport’s description of the fundamental aim and orientation of general system theory:
..the task of general systems theory is to find the most general conceptual framework in which a scientific theory or a technological problem can be placed without losing the essential features of the theory or the problem. The proponents of
general systems theory see in it the focal point of resynthesis of knowledge. There was a time when the man of knowledge was a generalist rather than a specialist, that is, he embodied the knowledge of principles rather than skills. He was the philosopher and the sage, and his epistemological creed was most clearly stated by Plato, who believed that all real knowledge comes from within rather than from without, that is, from the contemplation of what must be rather than
what seems to be. (Rapoport, 1968, p. 457.)