CORRELATION (Directive) 2)
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Permanent or at least recurrent interrelation entailing a reciprocal control between two or more functions in a system, such as their interconnected action converges toward some coherent behavior.
G. SOMMERHOFF defines this concept in a formalized way (1969, p.174-5) and proposes it as a suitable alternative to the so-called "Goal-directness", which has finalists overtones.
Directive correlations undergo reinforcements with time. They are the base of all types of adaptation, on short, medium or long term (p.177-81). They seem closely linked with the concepts of self-regulation, autopoiesis, organizational closure and hypercycle.
G. SOMMERHOFF emphasizes moreover that "Every directive correlation has a precise signification only in relation to the historical period of reference" (p.187). The most robust directive correlations are those which correspond to the oldest and most confirmed adaptations.
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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