BCSSS

International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics

2nd Edition, as published by Charles François 2004 Presented by the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science Vienna for public access.

About

The International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics was first edited and published by the system scientist Charles François in 1997. The online version that is provided here was based on the 2nd edition in 2004. It was uploaded and gifted to the center by ASC president Michael Lissack in 2019; the BCSSS purchased the rights for the re-publication of this volume in 200?. In 2018, the original editor expressed his wish to pass on the stewardship over the maintenance and further development of the encyclopedia to the Bertalanffy Center. In the future, the BCSSS seeks to further develop the encyclopedia by open collaboration within the systems sciences. Until the center has found and been able to implement an adequate technical solution for this, the static website is made accessible for the benefit of public scholarship and education.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

ADAPTATION by ULTRASTABILITY 1)

← Back

A complex system will adapt to a given environment "by providing second order feedbacks that veto all states of equilibrium, except those that leave each essential variable within its proper limits".

Furthermore:"The organism's reacting part is itself divided into subsystems between which there is no direct connection. Each subsystem is assumed to have its own essential variables and second order feedback". (ASHBY, 1960, pp.208-209)

This concept is obviously akin to:

1. - Vendryes' autonomy by internal regulations

2.- Maturana and Varela's organizational closure

3. - Eigen and Schuster's hypercycle

An important remark by ASHBY is that "The environment is assumed to be polystable" (Ibid). Of course, no adaptation would be possible in a totally incoherent environment.

Categories

  • 1) General information
  • 2) Methodology or model
  • 3) Epistemology, ontology and semantics
  • 4) Human sciences
  • 5) Discipline oriented

Publisher

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science(2020).

To cite this page, please use the following information:

Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science (2020). Title of the entry. In Charles François (Ed.), International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics (2). Retrieved from www.systemspedia.org/[full/url]

We thank the following partners for making the open access of this volume possible:

© 2020 BCSSS Contact/Imprint