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

DIFFERENTIATION 1)2)

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A growing degree of heterogeneity in a system or in a filiation of systems.

M. DODDS states: "In the evolutionary process, two tendencies which characterise all systems, viz differentiation and integration, go hand in hand. Differentiation is variety-increasing behavior (morphogenetic), leaning towards increasing complexity, apparent randomness, fragmentation, freedom. Integration on the other hand, represents pattern and order… The two tendencies are complementary, not contradictory" (1994, p.1417).

According to J.L.LE MOIGNE : "The formalization of differentiation processes seems still uncompleted. Two types of phenomena may be distinguished: the ones - morphostatic - evolve by extension, by regulation or even by equilibration; the others - morphogenetic – evolve by reproduction, by bifurcation or by mutation" (1977, p.191).

The first type results from the progressive expression of the virtual characters of the system during the process of its development, characters that became inscribed in it at the moment of its autogenesis. In this case, the system undergo transformations, but maintains its identity.

The second type of differentiation leads to the emergence of systems endowed with a superior degree of organization. Evolutive differentiation is aided by isolation of different groups, but impaired by recombination: this seems also to be sometimes true for technical and cultural variation. This is not anymore mere transformation: it becomes evolution. It would be quite useful to coin different terms to express these two quite different concepts of differentiation.

Differentiation is, by its nature, irreversible, as it leads to increased complexity coupled with an increased level of entropy production.

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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