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

TELEOLOGICAL CONCEPTS 1)3)

← Back

The general idea of self-organizing goalseeking systems, able to pursue self-defined goals, is circulating around in systemics, practically since its beginnings. It has been in various cases cloaked in greek apparel (Telos = goal, etc…), a fact that did not necessarily made it more accessible and clearer.

The first source was possibly the Golem, which (or who?) was goal-seeking, but not much self-organizing. But the model is the human being him/herself, in search for his/her deepest understanding.

We may approach the goal concept through the general synergetic one of order-parameter, "the macroscopic structure or field emergent out of interactions at the more microscopic level" or "a macroscopic collective field, emergent at critical points out of myriad interactions at the microlevel", in K DE GREENE words (1994, p.12). Simultaneously, various networks models and also experimental devices are now exploring this field.

Hereafter, some teleo-related concepts and models.

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]

We thank the following partners for making the open access of this volume possible:

© 2020 BCSSS Contact/Imprint