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.

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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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EXCLUSION (Competitive) 5)

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Two species which have identical ecological requirements cannot long coexist in a habitat.

This principle was introduced by G.F. GAUSE (1936).

J.de ROSNAY proposes to replace the notion of "natural selection" by the one of "competitive exclusion". In his wording: "Self catalysis unavoidably triggers quick growth and acceleration; but altogether conflicts with the environment. The growing systems drain energy for their own use. When the environmental resources are limited, these systems start to compete with others. Some survive, others are eliminated.

"In this perspective self catalysis and self selection become connected. Natural selection cannot anymore be confused with some arbitrary choice made from "outside" by a supranatural entity, nor even with an environment endowed with some hypothetical "project". The old notion of "natural selection" must thus be replaced by a more general one, which integrates duration and acceleration, namely "competitive exclusion" (1975, p.230).

Various growing systems can rival to obtain scarce resources of matter, energy and information and some of them may eliminate some others. However, in a global environment, they all finally depend on each others. Thus a succession of imperfect and transitional dynamic equilibria takes place among them all. Such a situation is found for example in ecology, as well as in economy and, as noted by de ROSNAY, is in accordance with ASHBY's Law of Requisite Variety.

The value of the principle seems thus quite general.

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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