<unk>  and<unk> cs are names for all research related to<unk>  theory. It is defined as an emerging branch of science that studies holistic<unk>  and tries to develop logical, mathematical, engineering and philosophical paradigms and frameworks in which physical, technological, biological, social, cognitive and metaphysical<unk>  can be studied and developed.<unk>  pursues its study from a certain point of view: to understand humans and their environment as part of interacting<unk> . The aim is to study this interaction from multiple perspectives, holistically. Inherent to this approach is a comprehensive historical, contemporary and futuristic outlook.<unk> , with such an ambition and with its basic<unk>  theory, provides a general language with which to tie together various areas of interdisciplinary communication. As such it automatically strives towards a universal science, i.e. to join together the many splintered disciplines with a "law of laws" applicable to them all and integrating all scientific knowledge.
A basic assumption of<unk>  thinking is, that there is something missing with the way we think about our lives. What has become the dominant thinking of our time produces only a partial understanding of our reality and relates only to parts of our being, not the whole of it. To overcome this reductionism, a holistic way of thinking is needed to allow us to see through chaos and understand complexity. A thinking of interaction and design can help us to learn a new mode of living by considering various ways of seeing, doing and being in the world. We can then design new methods of inquiry, new modes of organization and a way of life, that will allow the rational, emotional and ethical choices for interdependent, yet autonomous, social beings.
This dominant reductionistic thinking is traced back to the French philosopher Rene Descartes, who tended to segregate the whole and advised to consider the parts in isolation. This scientific method is called the "analytical approach". The analytical approach contributed significantly to modern science and was the conceptual basis of the Industrial Revolution.<unk>  thinkers  stated, that today this is not enough: the world is now more interdependent, organizations are more complex, and so are the problems they face..
Senge (1990) described<unk>  thinking as comprising five learning disciplines: personal mastery, meta models, shared vision, team learning, and the overarching discipline of<unk>  thinking. Earlier, Capra (1982) identified several key characteristics of<unk>  thinking, including a shift from an emphasis in the parts to the whole; a shift in attending to a single level to going back and forth between<unk>  levels; a shift from analytic thinking to contexual thinking, or explaining things in terms of their context; a shift from seeing objects as being of primary importance to seeing relationships as critical component, or netwerk thinking; a shift from the metaphor of knowledge as a building to that of knowledge as a network; and a shift from objective to epistemic science, in which the method of questioning is integral to the scientific theories.
More recently Ossimitz (2007) summarized, that four characteristic dimensions can be seen as essential for<unk>  thinking:
Systems science
Systems biology
Cognitive science
Systematics
Clinical trials terminology
Scientific method
Evidence-based medicine
Clinical engineering