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

FITNESS CRITERIA 1)3)

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There are no absolute fitness criteria. All criteria are related to some characteristics, deemed positive or negative, according to specific aims, but possibly insubstantial or irrelevant from another viewpoint.

As an example, A. JACQUARD observes: "The very expression "improvement of species" is perfectly illusory. We did not improve wheat, nor cows, nor horses. We have improved wheat's capacity to use some fertilizers (note: in some regions), cows capacity to produce milk (note: under specific conditions), horses capacity to run fast (note: mainly on race tracks)… But may we really boast about having improved maize or horses, while we have rendered them unable to survive without us?" (1978, p.162).

As to fitness as a criterion of "survival of the fittest", it does not amount much more than the tautological "survival of the survivors", the survivors being declared the fittest… because they survived.

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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