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.

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CONTROL (Negative) 2)4)

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"A means whereby courses are changed as to escape threats" (G. VICKERS, 1957, p.4).

VICKERS states: "Negative control reminds us that every system works within limits which cannot be passed without disaster. Some conditions must be preserved if the assembly is to hold together."

"… Thus all positive goal seeking, with the positive control which it involves, takes place within the framework of negative control, which ensures the continuance of the system" (p.4).

"… The control is designed to sense when the assembly is approaching the danger point; before this is reached, it remains inactive" (p.6).

Undoubtly, many contemporary problems in demographic, ecological and economic systems are a result of the general and obstinate ignorance of this concept of countervailing controls (enounced in 1957!).

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]

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