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

MECHANISTIC PARADIGM 3)

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According to H.von FOERSTER and G. PASK, neither the organism, nor the environment can be identified with classical automata because, in this case neither can undergo any change. In such an algorithmic straight jacket, adaptation and evolution would be utterly impossible, as all possible interactions would have to be strictly predetermined.

The mechanistic paradigm produced mechanistic models, strictly deterministic, which could only "read" in nature very simple causes to effects relations. These models pervaded much of the conceptual outlook in living and in human systems, at least until 1960, and are still in some cases blocking a better understanding of truly complex systems.

The thermodynamics of irreversible systems faraway from equilibrium, the catastrophe theory and the theory of chaos seem to suggest that non-rigorously predetermined innovation remains always possible, even within the frame of algorithms formerly constructed by previous evolution and learning.

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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