Natural Systems Thinking and the Human Family

Abstract

Broadly speaking, natural systems thinking is defined as a way of thinking that endeavors to conceptualize the functioning of living organisms as dependent on predictable forces at work within and around them. Systems concepts help to bring the function of those variables and life forces into better view. Psychiatrist Murray Bowen over the course of several years and a major research project at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) developed a theory of the family as a system. He considered his theory a natural systems theory, "... designed to fit precisely with the principles of evolution and the human as an evolutionary being" The human family system, a network of relationships, linking each family member to every other, responds dynamically to its environment and the conditions to which all members must adapt. Each family member's behavior influences that of every other to some degree. Although ideas of a general system theory and cybernetics were developing at the same time, Bowen reported that he knew nothing about those ideas at the time he developed his thinking. He believed that his systems orientation derived from his study of systems in nature and not from the "systems thinking" of the period. An emerging systems paradigm in biology and evolutionary thinking focuses on collective behavior and appears consistent in principle with Bowen's thinking about the family. The collective behavior of the family unit cannot be understood by looking at the characteristics of the individuals who comprise it. The human family presents a highly integrated, interactive system of adaptation. Its roots extend along the path of hominid evolution and share common elements with other evolved collectivities. The complex development of the human brain appears to have co-evolved with the interactional processes of the family. The Bowen theory provides the potential for an integrative theory of human behavior reaching beyond the focus on the physiology and psychology of the individual to the operation and influence of the family system. Such an integrative theory can offer broader explanatory and investigative pathways for understanding physical, emotional, and social problems as they emerge in human activity.

The language of nature in Murray Bowen's writings: how connection to nature informs Bowen theory and is essential to human survival

“…One indication of family functioning is the family's ability to employ an integration of emotional engagement, intellectual processes, open communication, goal setting and achieving processes during family challenges (Collier & Villareal, 2022;Papero, 2021). Bowen (1978aBowen ( , 1978bBowen ( , 1978c posited that:…”

“…The goal is for the member to gain a deeper understanding of self in their family system and increase self-regulation, which allows one to have better control over emotional reactivity and increase more thoughtful behaviours working towards one's life goals. Papero (2021) holds that to deal with the crises of today's world, humans will have to work on differentiation as he describes it here:…”

How Do Anxiety and Relationship Factors Influence the Application of Childbirth Education Strategies During Labor and Birth: A Bowen Family Systems Perspective

“…The increased anxiety this may cause the woman who considered herself to be coping well during labor but who has now had her capacity undermined by others perhaps suggesting pharmacological pain relief/medical interventions, may lead to compliance, withdrawal or rebellion towards them. 44 Such conditions may impact the use of CBE during childbirth as a result of the birthing mother’s own reactivity to the anxious feelings/lowered functioning from birth partners present at the birth. Lower levels of differentiation may mean that more anxious birth partners have a greater inclination to adhere to care-providers who assume greater responsibility for pain-relief and birth mode.…”

Differentiation of Family System Inventory (DoFSI): Development and content validation of a new qualitative family intervention and evaluation tool

“…Bowen's theory (Bowen, 1978) was predicated on the notion that Homo sapiens is the most complex form of life, distinct from less-evolved life forms in the development and complexity of the cerebral cortex with its ability to think and reason, rather than rely solely on instinct, especially when perceiving threat (Bowen, 1978(Bowen, , 1997Noone, 2016;Papero, 2020). For Bowen, anything not governed by the cerebral cortex was defined as emotional functioning, including reproduction, autonomic nervous system activity, subjective emotional and feeling states, and the forces that govern relationship systems (Bowen, 1978(Bowen, , 1997Noone, 2016;Papero et al, 2018). It follows that Bowen understood emotional illnesses to be a dysfunction of the emotional system, depending on how well the emotional and intellectual systems were separated within and between individuals (Bowen, 1978).…”