LIVING SYSTEMS, New York: Mc Graw-Hill 1978, by James Grier Miller

This important, unique book presents an integrated, multi-disciplinary analysis of the nature of all biological and social systems. It also presents a master theory that creates order from a chaotic array of scientific findings and ‘mini theories’—within the unifying concepts of laws and testable hypotheses. Its purposes are:

Firmly grounded in current scientific knowledge, Living Systems shows how biological and social systems are organized and operate at each of seven hierarchical levels: cells, organs (composed of cells); organisms (independent life forms); groups (families, committees, working groups, etc.); organizations (communities, cities, corporations, universities, multinational corporations, etc.); societies or nations; and supranational systems. Since cells evolved, about three billion years ago, the general direction of evolution has been toward ever-greater complexity until about 4,500 years ago, when the most complex level, the supranational system, evolved.

This book offers a detailed analysis of the major aspects and characteristics encountered at all seven levels. For every level it identifies multiple variables of each of 19 matter-energy and information processing subsystems, normal and pathological states of these variables, and practical indicators for measuring changes in them. The book also specified cross-level formal identities among the levels and describes the artifacts, machines, or technologies employed at each level.

With examples ranging from a heart cell to the European Economic Community, the author shows how the interactions of matter-energy and information flows among systems at one level of living systems create the next higher level, a process he calls ‘shred-out.’ He clearly demonstrates the elegant unity of the world’s living and nonliving systems, as well as the feasibility of a unified science to study them.

Living Systems is intended to be read by the general public as well as by scientific specialists. It is therefore written in the ordinary prose read by intelligent nonexperts. If a fact is fundamental, it is included, no matter how elementary it may be to a specialist in a particular field. The complex division of labor in modern science requires this approach. So does understanding of science by the general public.

In January 1946, James Grier Miller was appointed by General Omar Bradley and General Paul R. Hawley, Chief Medical Director, to be the first Chief of the new Clinical Psychology Section in the Central Office of the Veterans Administration in Washington, D.C. During 1946 and 1947 he served under Dr. Daniel Blain, Chief Psychiatrist, setting up the first national clinical psychology program the Veterans Administration ever had. During those two years, about two thousand psychologists (one quarter of all the psychologists in the United States) joined this program. The Ph.D. degree was established by the American Psychological Association, at the request of Miller, representing the Veterans Administration, as the appropriate level of training for clinical psychologists. After that, more than 40 universities, including the University of Michigan, joined a novel national program of doctoral training in clinical psychology with financial support from the federal government. Later, Miller was elected president of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association, serving in 1958 and 1959.

 In 1957, a few weeks after Sputnik, Vice President Richard M. Nixon became interested in the question of whether the United States was lagging behind the soviet Union in the development of behavioral science, as they appeared to be in space science. He asked Miller to organize a committee of leaders of the behavioral sciences to review the current state of those fields.

During a long, productive life, Miller’s scientific and professional activities have centered around the single theme of integrating knowledge about biological and social systems. But there have been great changes over the years. His early approach to science, under the influence of Whitehead, was a mixture of philosophy and experimentation. His current research relates modern information processing technologies to living systems. The basic research consists of quantitative studies of cross-level identities among multiple levels of systems. The applications extend from the use of artificial intelligence ‘expert systems’ to measure matter, energy, and information flows in living systems to the development of an electronic University of the world.

A crucial factor of Dr. Miller’s scientific productivity has been the constant and congenial support from his wife Jessie. She is a psychologist by training and has co-authored many of his publications. The extent of that relationship is stated in his dedication of the book LIVING SYSTEMS – TO JESSIE, colleague in every line.

James Grier Miller (1916 - 7 Nov 2002) was an American biologist, a pioneer of systems science, who originated the modern use of the term "behavioral science", founded and directed the multi-disciplinary Mental Health Research Institute at the University of Michigan, and originated the living systems theory. Miller received his A.B. summa cum laude in 1937, an A.M. in psychology in 1938, an M.D. cum laude in 1942, and Ph.D. in psychology in 1943 all from Harvard University, where he was also a junior fellow of the Society of Fellows. Following military service in World War II, he served as Chief of the newly formed Clinical Psychology section of the Veteran's Administration central office in Washington.

Selected Bibliography

Books:

Miller, J. G. Unconsciousness. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1942.

OSS Assessment Staff. Assessment of men. New York: Rinehart & Company, 1948.

Miller, J. G. (Ed.). Experiments in social process. New York: Mc Graw-Hill, 1950.

Miller, J. G. Living systems. New York: Mc Graw-Hill, 1978.

Papers:

Miller, J. G. Whitehead: History in the grand manner. Part I. Harvard Guardian, 1937 1 (2), 23-29.

Sterling, K. & J. G. Miller. The effect of hypnosis upon visual and auditory acuity. Amer. J. Psychol., 1940, 53, 269-276.

_. Conditioning under anesthesia. Amer. J. Psychol., 1941, 54, 92-101.

_. The development of conditioning in anesthetized cats. Current Researches in Anesthesia and Analgesia, 1944, 23, 89-94.

_. Mental hygiene for the counselor. J. Natl. Assn. Deans of Women, 1949, 12, 51-58.

Miller, J. G. and R. F. W. Smith. Research on word frequencies in schizophrenia, reported by G. K. Zipf in Human behavior and the principle of least effort. Cambridge: Addison-Wesley Press, 1949, 292-296.

Miller, J. G. Contributions of the sciences of man to keeping the peace. In R. M. Hutchins, R. West, W. G. Katz, M. Sharp, and J. G. Miller Reflections on law, psychology, and world government. Univer. Chicago Law Rev., 1949, 16, 413-416.

_. The experimental study of unconscious processes. In M. L Reymert (Ed.). Feelings and emotions: The Mooseheart Symposium. New York: Mc Graw-Hill, 1950, 261-267.

_. The implications of psychoanalytic theory for the evaluation of psychotherapy. Psychol. Serv. Center J., 1950, 2, 123-129.

_. Unconscious. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1951, 22, 681.

_. Unconscious processes and perception. In R. R. Blake and G. V. Ramsey (Eds.). Perception: An approach to personality. New York: Ronald Press, 1951, 258-282.

_. Objective methods of evaluating process and outcome in psychotherapy. Amer. J. Psychiat., 1951, 108, 258-263.

Miller, J. G., L. Bouthilet & C. Eldridge. A bibliography for the development of stress-sensitive tests. Technical Research Note 22. Washington, D.C.: Psychol. Res. Assoc., 1953.

Miller, J. G. The development of experimental stress-sensititive tests for predicting performance in military tasks. Report 1079. Washington, D.C.: Psychol. Res. Assoc., 1953.

_. A Science of Human Behavior. Univ. of Chicago Round Table, October 11, 1953, No. 809.

_. Toward a general theory for the behavioral sciences. American Psychol., 1955, 10, 513-531. Reprinted in L. D. White (Ed.). The State of the Social Sciences. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1956, 29-65.

_. Criteria of change in the patient during psychiatric treatment and the measurement of change. Amer. J. Psychiat., 1955, 112, 289-290. (Abstract).

Miller, J. G. Special problems of psychotherapy. In J. H. Masserman and J. L. Moreno (Eds.). Progress in Psychotherapy II. New York: Grune & Stratton, 1957, 188-196.

Miller, J. G. Information input overload and psychopathology. Amer. J. Psychiat., 1960, 116, 695-704.

Miller, J. G. Drugs and human information processing: Perception, cognition, and response. In L. Uhr and J. G. Miller (Ed.s). Drugs and Behavior. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1960, 335-351.

Miller, J. G. Sensory overloading. In B. E. Flaherty (Ed.). Psychophysiological aspects of space flight. New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1961, 215-224.

Miller, J. L. & J. G. Miller. Behavioral scientists visit the Soviet Union. Behav. Sci., 1962, 7, 3-36.

Miller, J. G. The individual as an information processing system. In W. S. Fields and W. Abbott (Eds.). Information storage and neural control. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1963, 301-328.

Miller, J. G. The information explosion: Implications for teaching. J. Natl. Assn. Women Deans & Coun., 1964, 27, 54-59.

_. Living systems: Basic concepts. Behav. Sci., 1965, 10, 193-237. Reprinted in modified form in W. Gray, F. J. Duhl and N. D. Rizzo (Eds.). General systems theory and psychiatry. Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1969, 51-133.

_. Living systems: Structure and process. Behav. Sci., 1965, 10, 337-379.

_. Living systems: Cross-level hypotheses. Behav. Sci., 1965, 10, 380-411. Numbers 100-102 Translated as follows: into Polish in Prakseologia, Warsaw, 1969, and into Italian by Franco Angeli Editore, Milan, 1971.

_. The organization of life. Perspectives Biol. & Med., 1965, 9, 107-125. (Festschrift for R. W. Gerard)

_. Role of communications. In Proceedings of the White House Conference on Health. November 1965. Washington, D. C.: GPO, 1965, 253-275.

Miller, J. G. The nature of living systems. In S. G. Tickton (Ed.). To improve learning: An evaluation of instructional technology. Vol. 2. New York: Bowker, 1971, 241-270.

_. The living systems involved in the educational process. In S. G. Tickton (Ed.). To improve learning: An evaluation of instructional technology. Vol. 2. New York: Bowker, 1971, 261-260.

_. A ten-year program for developing, evaluating and implementing instructional technologies. In S. G. Tickton (Ed.). To improve learning: An evaluation of instructional technology. Vol. 2. New York: Bowker, 1971, 271-279.

_. Deciding whether and how to use educational technology in the light of cost-effectiveness evaluation. N S. G. Tickton (Ed.). To improve learning: An evaluation of instructional technology. Vol. 2. New York: Bowker, 1971, 1007-1027.

Miller, J. G. & G. J. Rath. Planning-programming-budgeting and cost-effectiveness analysis in educational systems. In S. G. Tickton (Ed.). To improve learning: An evaluation of instructional technology. Vol. 2, New York: Bowker, 1971, 1029-1059.

Miller, J. G. The computer, its function and place in modern society. In G. W. Holmes and C. H. Norville (Eds.). The law of computers. Ann Arbor: Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 1971, 1-16.

The nature of living systems—an overview. In Interdisciplinary aspects of general systems theory. Proceedings of the third annual meeting of the Middle Atlantic Regional Division. September 1974. Washington, D.C.: Society for General Systems Research, 1975, 1-23.

_. Living systems: The group. Behav. Sci., 1971, 16, 302-398.

_. Living systems. The cell. Currents in mod. Biol., 1971, 4, 78-206.

_. Living systems. The organ. Currents in mod. Biol., 1971, 4, 207-256.

_. Living systems: The organization. Behav. Sci., 1972, 17, 1-182.

_. The emergence of biological and behavioral patterns. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci., 1972, 193, 281-285, Discussion, 286-290.

Miller, J. B. Living systems: The society. Behav. Sci., 1975, 20, 366-535.

_. General systems theory. In A. M. Freedman, H. I. Kaplan, & B. J. Sadock (Eds.). Comprehensive textbook of psychiatry—II. Second edition. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1975, 75-88. Reprinted in abbreviated form in A. M. Freedman, H. I Kaplan, and B. J. Sadock (Eds.). Modern synopsis of comprehensive textbook of psychiatry—II. Illustrated education. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1976, 41-46. (Paperback).

_. Living systems: The supranational system. Behav. Sci., 1976, 21, 320-468.

_. Potential applications of a general theory of living systems to the study of military tactical command and control. In R. M. Thrall, C. P. Tsokos, and J. C. Turner (Eds.). Proceedings of the workshop on decision information for tactical command and control. September 1976. Houston: R. M. Thrall & Assoc., 1976, 47-53. (Paperback).

Miller, J. G. & J. L. Miller. The family as a system. In C. K. Hofling and J. M. Lewis (Eds.). The family: Evaluation and treatment. New York: Brunner/Mazel, 1980, 141-184.

Miller, J. G. The Center’s tradition. The Center magazine, 1981, 14, Sept./Oct., 2-4.

Miller, J. G. & J. L. Miller. Systems science: An emerging interdisciplinary field. The Center magazine, 1981, 14, Sept./Oct., 44-55.

_. The earth as a system. Behav. Sci., 1982, 27, 303-322. Reprinted in J. Richardson (Ed.). Models of reality: Shaping thought and action. Mt. Airy, MD: Lomond Books, 1984, 19-49.

_. General living systems theory and small groups. In H. I Kaplan and B. J. Sadock (Eds.). Comprehensive group psychotherapy. Second edition. Baltimore: Willliams & Wilkins, 1983, 33-47.

_. Applications of living systems theory to conjoint therapy. In M. H. Greenhill and A. Gralnick (Eds.). Psychopharmacology and psychotherapy. New York: Free Press, 1983, 21-35.

Miller, J. G. Matter-energy and information processing in military and other living systems. In A. Debons (Ed.). Information science in action: System design. Vol. I. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1983, 138-140.

_. Einleitung und Vortrag. In G. Guntern (Ed.). Die Welt, ein schwingendes Gewebe. Brig, Switzerland: Institute for Systems Science Oberwallis, 1984, 9-56.

Miller, J. G. & J. L. Miller. General living systems theory. In H. I. Kaplan and B.J. Sadock (Eds.). Comprehensive textbook of psychiatry/IV. Vol. I. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1985, 13-24.

Miller, J. G. & J. L Miller. A living systems analysis of organizational pathology Behavioral Science Vol. 36, No. 4 (October 1991), pp. 239-252.

Miller, J. G. & J. L. Miller. Introduction: The nature of living systems. Behavioral Science Vol.35, No.3 (July

1990), pp.157-163.

Miller, J. L. The timer. Behavioral Science Vol.35, No. 3 (July 1990), pp. 164-196.

Miller, J. L. & J. G. Miller. Greater than the sum of its parts – 1. Subsystems which process both matter-energy and information. Behavioral Science Vol. 37, No. 1 (January 1992), pp. 1- 38.

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