Download or read book Sociology and the New Systems Theory written by Kenneth D. Bailey and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1994-01-01 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After providing a review of classical theory, this book carefully sketches the chief contributions of living systems theory, social entropy theory, autopoiesis, and other approaches. It shows that these approaches are without flaws of earlier functionalism, yet they retain the breadth and integrative potential needed by mainstream theorists concerned about the threat of hyperspecialization and fragmentation within sociology.