Cybernetics, systems, and medical thinking — scientific theories, fuzziness and the state of health

60 years ago, 1948, Norbert Wiener developed a meta-theory of feedback and governance operating across any simple or complex system: Cybernetics or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. Already 80 years ago, Ludwig von Bertalanffy began his research on a ldquoGeneral Systems Theoryrdquo and after the II. World War the both scientific meta-theories merged to a ldquotr.ans-scientificrdquo view. More than 40 years ago Lotfi Zadeh founded the theory of Fuzzy Sets and Systems based on his works in information theory and continuing Wieners research in prediction theory - both are parts of cybernetics. In the 70s, Mario Bunge published his Iatrophilosophy as system theoretical approach in philosophy of medicine and in the 80s Kazem Sadegh-Zadeh opened the door to use fuzzy system´s concepts in this area and to define a patient´s state of health as a linguistic variable.