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.

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MACHINE METAPHOR (The) and its Mechanic 3)

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In his book "Order and Life", J. NEEDHAM describes the ultimate mechanicism subjacent in DRIESCH's vitalistic biology. He writes"… it was DESCARTES who introduced the practice of calling organisms machines, and then postulating trascendent mechanics to drive them "(1958, p. 74)

Of course, in the western culture setting, a unique trascendent Mechanic is finally postulated. This is in deep harmony with monocausal determinism and the concept of a pyramidal (and generally autocratic) model of hierarchy.

One of the most subtle and deepest conceptual mutation of the 20 C. thought has been the recognition of multi-causal (and ultimately chaotic) determinism and network causality. It is not to say that simple determinism and hierarchical organization should be excluded. but they must obviously be inscribed within the more general views as specific and special cases.

The progressive evolution of biology from mechanicism, to vitalism and, further on, to the organismic view (as proposed by WOODGER and BERTALANFFY among others) testifies to the progressive shift away from the machine metaphor to a more holographic one. Let us however beware of possible restrictive effects of an eventual abuse of a dogmatic pure holistic view, carrying along the ghost of the "mechanic"

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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