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

HOMEORHESIS 1)2)

← Back

The condition of a flow process which remains canalised within limits in a growing system.

This neologism was created by C. WADDINGTON who explains: "Whereas the process of keeping something at a stable, or stationary value is called homeostasis, ensuring the continuation of a given type of change it is called homeorhesis" (1976, p.140).

In E. JANTSCH terms: "Homeorhesis… (characterizes) the preservation, not of a stationary state (as in homeostasis), but of a flow process. Disturbances are counteracted so as to bring back the process not to where it was when disturbed, but to where it would have progressed if left undisturbed. Many biological and social growth processes are homeorhetic" (1975, p.92).

Growth of a system is normally homeorhetic, because it is the only way to maintain its identity. The system turns homeostatic (i.e. acquires dynamic stability) when it reaches its full development, in accordance with its archetype.

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