The Board of the BCSSS has nominated another four distinguished researchers as members of the Scientific Council. In alphabetic order these academics are:

• Prof. emeritus Mario Augusto Bunge from McGill University in Montreal, Canada; he was born in Argentine and recently held a remarkable speech at the 4th Regional Congress of the Latin American Association of Systemics (ALAS) in Buenos Aires; he is a philosopher of science and system theorist dealing with a broad range of topics in a broad range of domains; he is a famous proponent of the systemic emergent materialism which need not only be applied to the mind-body problem; he is known as a severe critic of both reductionism and holism
• Prof. emeritus Klaus Kornwachs; he is a philosopher of technology who had been working at the Brandenburg University of Cottbus, Germany; educated in physics, mathematics and philosophy, he taught cybernetics beginning in 1974, did research in open systems and information and founded in 1988 the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Systemforschung e.V.; currently he is teaching at Ulm University
• Prof. Gerald Midgley; after spending some time as Science Leader for the Systems Thinking, Action Research and Social Science group at the Christchurch Science Center in New Zealand, he is back to UK and serves as Director of the Centre for Systems Studies at the Business School of the University of Hull; besides other publications he authors, he is editor of a four volume anthology of “Systems Thinking” with Sage
• Prof. Rainer E. Zimmermann; educated as physicist and philosopher, he taught many years philosophy at the University of Kassel and is still teaching philosophy at the Munich University of Applied Sciences; he is Life Member of Clare Hall at Cambridge; he is famous for representing onto-epistemology, has been working on self-organisation and evolutionary systems; since 2006 he has been concerned with the systems thinking of Edgar Morin

Bunge, Kornwachs, Midgley and Zimmermann consort with László and Morin who have been the first members elected by the Board. The Scientific Council gives the Bord advice in matters of activities of the Center.

Professor John Collier (Philosophy and Ethics) informed us about a Post-Doctoral Research Scholarships at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) open to a broad range of proposals in information theory, complex adaptive systems, related areas in biology, cognitive science and language.

Applications are invited for Post-Doctoral Research Scholarships for 2012. The successful applicants will be expected to engage in full-time post-doctoral studies on an approved research programme under the supervision of a member of the academic staff in one of the Schools of the University.

Call open until 30 September 2011.

Further information:

John Collier: Collierj [at] ukzn.ac.za

Dr. Marshall W. Allen generously passed to the BCSSS the entire collection of Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s letters to Joseph Henry Woodger (1894–1981) which he formerly received from Woodger in person for his respective studies. Thus the archive was supplemented by adding 74 letters from Ludwig von Bertalanffy, 7 from Maria von Bertalanffy, 4 from other institutions and 1 publication of Ludwig von Bertalanffy which was unknown so far. The exchange of letters ranges from 1930 to 1959. Woodger not only was a close colleague and friend of L. von Bertalanffy, they were also collaborating on the translation of “Kritsche Theorie der Formbildung” published then as “Modern Theories of Development”. Marshall is actually researching the biography of Woodger, including a chapter on the relationship and influence on each other’s work.

Every 3 years the BCSSS holds its General Assembly. It’s open to every member.

Venue: Department of Theoretical Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Biozentrum, Althanstraße 14 (UZA 1), 1090 Wien
Schedule: 15:30

Maria von Bertalanffy, the wife of Ludwig von Bertalanffy, kept a diary on all her private life with Ludwig since they left Austria (1948) until his death (1972) and beyond that. Obviously you will find in there important dates about the professional life of Ludwig. Each year sees one diary with an entry for each day of the year written in German. There are only three days she refused to make an entry. All of these diaries were recently donated to the BCSSS  by the widow of Ludwig’s son Felix, Gisèle. They were handed over by Michel Saint-Germain, Professor emeritus of the University of Ottawa, who met Maria von Bertalanffy in 1976. They are now located together with the rest of Bertalanffy’s legacy in the LvB Archive at the Department of Theoretical Biology at the University of Vienna. This department belongs to the follow-up institute of the Institute of Zoology Bertalanffy worked with during the World War II. The diaries are now open to research.

Gisèle Bertalanffy is the last direct relative of Ludwig von Bertalanffy who is still alive. In recognition of her contributions to publicise the legacy of Ludwig von Bertalanffy she was appointed honorary membership by the reelected board of the BCSSS.

Michel Saint-Germain (right) is handing over diaries of Ludwig von Bertalanffy’s wife Maria to the BCSSS.