|
The Nature of Cybernetic Systems
While as a meta-theory, the ideas and principles of Cybernetics and Systems Science are intended
to be applicable to anything, the "interesting" objects of study that
Cybernetics and Systems Science tends to focus on are complex systems such as organisms,
ecologies, minds, societies, and machines. Cybernetics and Systems Science regards these systems
as complex, multi-dimensional networks of information systems. We will
generally call such systems "cybernetic systems" (see also "complex adaptive systems"). Cybernetics presumes
that there are underlying principles and laws which can be used to unify
the understanding of such seemingly disparate types of systems. The
characteristics of cybernetic systems directly affect the nature of
cybernetic theory, resulting in serious challenges to traditional
methodology. Some of these characteristics are:
- Complexity:
- Cybernetic systems are complex structures, with many
heterogeneous interacting components.
- Mutuality:
- These many components interact in parallel,
cooperatively, and in real time, creating multiple simultaneous
interactions among subsystems.
- Complementarity:
- These many simultaneous modes of interaction lead
to subsystems which participate in multiple processes and structures,
yielding any single dimension of description incomplete, and requiring
multiple complementary, irreducible levels of analysis.
- Evolvability:
- Cybernetic systems tend to evolve and grow in an
opportunistic manner, rather than be designed and planned in an optimal
manner.
- Constructivity:
- Cybernetic systems are constructive, in that as they
tend to increase in size and complexity, they become historically bound to
previous states while simultaneously developing new traits.
- Reflexivity:
- Cybernetic systems are rich in internal and external
feedback, both positive and negative. Ultimately, they can enter into the
"ultimate" feedback of reflexive self-application, in which their
components are operated on simultaneously from complementary perspectives,
for example as entities and processes. Such situations may result in the
reflexive phenomena of self-reference, self-modeling, self-production, and
self-reproduction.
(see also Cybernetic Theory and Cybernetic Practice)
Copyright© 1992 Principia Cybernetica -
Referencing this page
|
|
Author
C. Joslyn,
Date
Jan 1992
|
|
