Systems theory is the transdisciplinary

Transdisciplinarity

Transdisciplinarity connotes a research strategy that crosses many disciplinary boundaries to create a holistic approach. It applies to research efforts focused on problems that cross the boundaries of two or more disciplines, such as research on effective information systems for biomedical...

 study of system

System

System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....

s in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research

Research

Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

. The term does not yet have a well-established, precise meaning, but systems theory can reasonably be considered a specialization of systems thinking

Systems thinking

Systems thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole. In nature, systems thinking examples include ecosystems in which various elements such as air, water, movement, plants, and animals work together to survive or perish...

, a generalization of systems science

Systems science

Systems science is an interdisciplinary field of science that studies the nature of complex systems in nature, society, and science. It aims to develop interdisciplinary foundations, which are applicable in a variety of areas, such as engineering, biology, medicine and social sciences.Systems...

, a systems approach. The term originates from Bertalanffy

Ludwig von Bertalanffy

Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy was an Austrian-born biologist known as one of the founders of general systems theory . GST is an interdisciplinary practice that describes systems with interacting components, applicable to biology, cybernetics, and other fields...

's General System Theory (GST) and is used in later efforts in other fields, such as the action theory

Action theory

Action theory is an area in philosophy concerned with theories about the processes causing willful human bodily movements of more or less complex kind. This area of thought has attracted the strong interest of philosophers ever since Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics...

 of Talcott Parsons

Talcott Parsons

Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973....

 and the system-theory of Niklas Luhmann

Niklas Luhmann

Niklas Luhmann was a German sociologist, and a prominent thinker in sociological systems theory.-Biography:...

.

In this context the word systems is used to refer specifically to self-regulating system

Homeostasis

Homeostasis is the property of a system that regulates its internal environment and tends to maintain a stable, constant condition of properties like temperature or pH...

s, i.e.