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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DETERMINISM (Structural) 2)

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The set of basic conditions that allows the autogenesis, existence and survival of a system.

According to HARNDEN: "Such a determination is a two way dance in that the unity structurally determines its niche in the same move that its niche structurally determines it" (1990, p.300).

In other words, any system is at least in some measure preadapted to its niche-environment: it is an unavoidable previous condition of survival. However, as no environment is ever absolutely stable, the system must repeatedly adapt and readapt to outside variations, within the limits allowed by its own internal variety.

Thus, structural determinism is a global frame for behavior. but necessarily admits more or less ample fluctuations, which may even appear as random.

In very complex evolutive systems (ecosystems, sociosystems) structural determinism becomes so vast and complex that it practically seems to dissolve, giving much leeway to innovation and creativity.

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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