Walter F. Buckley

Walter Frederick Buckley (1922 - January 26, 2006) was an American professor of sociology. He was among the first to apply concepts from general systems theory (GST), based on the work of Bertalanffy, to sociology. The sociologist was not specifically aligned to either the cybernetics or the general systems movements.[1]

Contents

Biography

Buckley was born in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1922. He received the Ph.D. degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was a professor at the University of New Hampshire between 1971 and 1985, and honorary chair of the Socio-Cybernetics Research Committee of the International Sociological Association in 1998. He has been described as a pioneer in social systems theory that challenged conventional views.[2]

Buckley also appreciated jazz music and played tenor saxophone. He died in 2006 in Durham, New Hampshire. His wife Cicely still lives in Durham.[3]

Work

Buckley was one of the first pioneers to correctly apply systems concepts to the social sciences.[4]

Publications

The sociologist made three major contributions to systems theory and sociology:

Articles, a selection

References

  1. ^ American Society for Cybernetics, Timeline for the Evolution of Cybernetics, 2003,
  2. ^ UNH Alumni in Memoriam: Walter F. Buckley, University of New Hampshire, 2006.
  3. ^ Walter F. Buckley, Research Committee on Sociocybernetics, 2006.
  4. ^ R.F. Geyer and G. v.d. Zouwen (1992), "Sociocybernetics", in: Cybernetics and Applied Systems, C.V. Negoita ed. p.96.
  5. ^ Overview of this book on the ISSS website, retrieved 24.03.2008.

External links