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

CAUTION PRINCIPLE 1)4)

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Innovation of any kind should be carefully scrutinized in order to try to understand their possible side effects and, in cases, to avoid them.

Unobstrusive possible effects may include delayed effects, mass effects, spillower effects, etc., all of them easily ignored or underestimated, but frequently quite difficult or impossible to overcome, once manifested. This is specially important in applications of scientific discoveries.

Countless examples have been registered during the 20 Century, as for example acquired resistance of many kinds of bugs to insecticides, and of pathogens to antibiotics, or unmanegeable cars traffic in cities and roads.

The first condition for practical caution is the understanding of possible links, between appearently unconnected aspects, or eventual accumulation of effects short, medium and/or long term

At least a clearer understanding of not obvious effects permits a better balanced evaluation of decisions to be made, or not.

Caution principle is also known as "precaution principle"

→ Cassandra's syndrome; Risks analysis; Risks in human issues

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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