Isomorphological analysis: The theory of it all

Complex systems concepts can be traced back to the philosophy of G.W. Leibiniz and Nicholas Cusa, and during the 19^th century a systems approach was introduced into the hard sciences of energy transformation and thermodynamics. Current General Systems Theory was developed from the work of Ludwig von Bertalanffy and others. Due to the existence of general system properties the appearance of structural similarities or isomorphism's in different fields occur. In many cases, isomorphic laws hold for certain classes or subclasses of 'systems', irrespective of the nature of the entities involved. There appear to be general system laws which apply to any system of a certain type, irrespective if the particular properties of the system and of the elements involved. The reality of today's environment is one of complexity, self-organizations, connectionism and adaptive systems in all fields of research in General Systems Theory. Bertalanffy understood that identifying isomorphologies between complex systems improved the probabilities of better understanding systems complexities in any one system. The purpose of this paper is to identify and present a methodological structure for systemic isomorphological analysis to assist systems theory and engineering management researchers, students and practioners, to address the identification, application and analysis of complex systems isomorphologies.